Police hunt suspect who defaced billboard of president

The police have declared a hunt for a man who local media claim defaced a giant billboard of President Abdulla Yameen at the artificial beach in Malé.

The man, who was caught on CCTV, is wanted in “connection to an investigation by the general investigation department,” the police said in a statement on Tuesday.

A spokesman declined to reveal details, but local media report that the suspect is wanted for throwing used engine oil at a photo of the president on a campaign billboard.

The billboard was defaced a day after the parliament, dominated by the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, approved a bill re-criminalizing defamation. The law has been condemned as an attack on free speech and press freedom.