NGO boss questioned over ‘anti-Islamic’ tweet
Shahindha Ismail is accused of disrupting religious unity for saying that Allah allowed for other religions, which came in response to vows in a speech by President Abdulla Yameen to ensure that Islam remains the only religion permitted in the Maldives.
02 Apr 2018, 9:00 AM
The executive director of NGO Maldivian Democracy Network was questioned at the police headquarters Monday over an “anti-Islamic” tweet posted in December.
Shahindha Ismail is accused of disrupting religious unity for saying that Allah allowed for other religions, which came in response to vows in a speech by President Abdulla Yameen to ensure that Islam remains the only religion permitted in the Maldives.
Dismissing the blasphemy charge, Shahindha told the Maldives Independent: “I have never criticised Islam with the intention of causing disregard for Islam.”
She was placed under investigation under section 617 of the penal code, which prohibits “religious oration and criticism of Islam in public or in a public medium with the intention to cause disregard to Islam.”
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