Opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim was taken back into custody on Thursday and was later remanded for 15 days by the criminal court.
Orchestrating a plot to overthrow the government has been added to the list of allegations against the Maamigili MP on top of attempting to bribe government lawmakers ahead of the censure motion against parliament’s speaker Abdullah Maseeh, and undue influence on a state official.
The business magnate was first arrested on April 6 over the bribery allegations; however, the high court last Wednesday freed him after ruling that he was arrested in violence of due procedure.
The seasoned lawmaker was arrested after the criminal court issued an arrest warrant, on direct request of the police.
However, according to parliament rules of procedure, unless from a scene of a crime, a lawmaker can only be arrested under a warrant from a superior court on direct request from the chief prosecutor.
But this time Gasim was arrested in accordance with due procedure.
The opposition coalition, which now JP is a part of, has claimed that the government is descending into autocracy and has been heavily critical of its “crackdown” on the opposition.
The criminal court meanwhile had begun his trial behind closed doors but had issued a warrant to search the home and offices of the business magnate for the police to gather more evidence related to the charges.
