Nasheed urges withdrawal of what he calls political charges against Thinadhoo Mayor Saud

Former President and MDP Chairman Mohamed Nasheed has called for the withdrawal of what he described as political charges against Thinadhoo Mayor Saud Ali.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has filed two charges against Saud in relation to the alleged illegal designation of Thinadhoo as a city.

In a post on X, Nasheed accused the government of pursuing politically motivated charges against Saud.  

He wrote that “the threat of imprisonment to elected councils is unacceptable”, and urged authorities to withdraw the case.

Thinadhoo city ge mayor @SaudAlye ge ma’chah ufulaafaivaa siyaasee dhauva ambura gendhan sarukaarah govaalan! Inthikhaabee council thakah jaluge biru dhekkun balaeh nuganeveyne.

— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) September 1, 2026

Police have been investigating the matter since 2007, focusing on allegations that inaccurate population data was shared with relevant government agencies to obtain city status for Thinadhoo.

Saud was summoned to the Thinadhoo City Police Station for questioning on July 10. Police said last Thursday that the case had been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.

Saud faces the following charges:

Knowingly providing an invalid document  

• The charge concerns the population list submitted to the LGA, which allegedly included repeated names and individuals registered in other islands.  
• If convicted, Saud faces one year, seven months and six days in jail.

Giving false information to an official body  

• The charge alleges that the council falsely told police that no population list had been sent to state agencies when asked to share the records.  
• If convicted, he faces four months and 24 days in jail.

In 2024, PNC MP Saudulla Hilmy submitted the issue to Parliament and the LGA, alleging that Thinadhoo was designated as a city illegally. Saudulla said the population of Thinadhoo stood at 10,150 people.

He claimed that elected councilors in Thinadhoo became mayors and promised then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih that the island would be granted city status.

Thinadhoo was declared a city on 30 August 2023, during Solih’s presidential campaign. The current administration has since decided to maintain its city status.