Leader behind the 1988 coup attack on Maldives, Abdulla Luthufee has been sentenced to seven months and 18 days in jail for fleeing custody while abroad for medical purposes.
Assisted by armed foreign mercenaries, Luthufee led the attacks on Maldives on 3rd November 1988 that killed 19 Maldivians. Charged and convicted for treason, Luthufee received the death penalty for his crimes. However, then President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom lightened his sentence to life imprisonment.
Luthufee was allowed to travel to neighboring Sri Lanka on 16th January 2010 for medical purposes during former president Mohamed Nasheed's administration. However, he went into hiding during the trip and had been residing in Sri Lanka for the past nine years as a fugitive.
Following the Easter Sunday attacks on Sri Lanka, Luthufee voluntarily presented himself to the Maldivian Embassy in Sri Lanka on 1st May 2019 for safety purposes, after which was residing at the embassy until his extradition from Sri Lanka. Authorities did not disclose his presence at the embassy until after rumors that the embassy was harboring Luthufee made its rounds on social media. Upon his return in the Maldives, the state charged him under Article 537 of the Criminal Procedure Act for fleeing from a detention center.
In a hearing held at the Criminal Court last week, Luthufee confessed to fleeing custody while in Sri Lanka, and asked the court to expedite the case, and implored the court for a minimum sentence. During the sentencing hearing held on Wednesday, Luthufee said as he has several medical issues, and while only two years remain on his initial sentence, he requests the court to allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under home arrest. However, the state said while Luthufee fled authorities while abroad under concessions made due to his medical condition, he cannot serve his sentence anywhere but in prison.
