MP Abdulla Jabir arrested

Police have arrested Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir under a warrant issued by the Criminal Court today.

Criminal Court issued the arrest warrant after MP Jabir failed to attend two hearings regarding his indictment for alleged possession of alcohol and using cannabis in Haa Dhaalu Hondaidhoo last November.

Police Media Official has confirmed that the MP Jabir was taken into custody tonight. He said that they will produce him before the court at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. The MP was arrested from his residence at M. Mookai Suites around 11:20 p.m.

However, the official did not state the location the MP is being detained.

Sun reporters witnessed MP Jabir being led away by the police, accompanied by his team of lawyer and his wife, former Attorney General Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed. The MP was not in handcuffs.

In a short interview moments before being driven away, MP Jabir told the media that he was not hiding from the court and that he had told the police that he was freely willing to attend court on Thursday.

“I called the PG (Prosecutor General) regarding this. But the PG said he will not be able to recall the case. I am not hiding from the court and I have never received a summoning chit,” Jabir said.

MP Jabir said that the Criminal Court had delivered a summoning chit to his residence while he and his wife were away from the city and that the chit was received by a foreigner in the residence.

MP Jabir has been charged with possession of alcohol, using of cannabis and refusing to provide urine samples to the authorities.

When he and his wife went to the airport to leave the country on Monday night, the MP was informed by the Department of Immigration that his passport has been withheld in relation to the court case.