The criminal court on Tuesday gave self-exiled former Judicial Service Commission (JSC) member Aishath Velezinee a 14-day period to be present for questioning in an on-going case against her.
The statement released by the police on Tuesday did not reveal the specifics of the case they have against Velezinee, who currently resides in Netherlands.
However, the Islamic ministry in March, publicly shunned her for making “sacrilegious statements” on social media.
The police’s statement said that Velezinee will be given the opportunity to defend herself and be answerable to the case they have built against her.
If she does not present herself, the police will continue the probe with the evidence they have gathered, and will forward the case for prosecution in absentia.
Therefore, the police had urged Velezinee to be present for their interrogation in order to carry out a fair investigation.
Velezinee, who is seeking refuge in Hague, posted several videos via Facebook Live where she had made blasphemous statements about Prophet Muhammed, the Islamic concept of after-life, and outlandishly claimed that the archangel Gabriel had visited her.
Even though her comments on the sensitive subject had offended many Maldivians, it was widely viewed and shared on social media. Her videos also sparked public debates over her sanity, while others questioned whether she was purposefully being sacrilegious.
Velezinee was appointed as a JSC member during former president Mohamed Nasheed’s presidency. She was an outspoken critic of the Maldivian judicial system and had been protesting for judicial reforms even during Nasheed’s presidency.
