Police on Saturday arrested the suspect in connection to the alleged rape of a 19 year old woman in the capital Male.
Police spokesperson confirmed that the 34 year old Hassan Faiz who is the brother of chief government lawmaker Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik was taken into custody on Saturday in connection to the rape allegation.
The victim had earlier told Avas that her attacker was a member of a powerful political family who had sexually assaulted her on Wednesday evening when she had visited his studio for an art project.
Faiz who is a renowned artist himself had sexually assaulted her despite her best efforts to escape her attacker.
After the alleged rape, the attacker had offered her MVR16,000 in return for her silence. But immediately after the assault, she had gone to the hospital with the help of some her friend before notifying the police.
Police had taken her statement after the hospital had done the tests and she had detailed her ordeal at the police station until 6.00am the next morning. She said the police had taken her clothing as evidence.
The victim had shared the identity of her attacker but under the defamation law, Avas had been unable to reveal the name of the alleged rapist.
However, Faiz had denied the allegations insisting that he had called her over to the studio to discuss a joint art project. He claimed that the unidentified woman had left shortly after they had been unable to agree on a fee for her assistance in the project.
He had also claimed that the allegations were designed to destroy his reputation and described it as a politically motivated attack on his brother.
Nihan had also shared his take on the whole incident, calling on the police to arrest and punish the perpetrator of such a heinous crime "whoever it maybe".
