Aniya Arrested Over Article “Against Islam”
MinivanNews ^ | May 3, 2007 | Will Jordan
minivannews.com
Aishath Aniya was arrested on Thursday morning in connection with an article she wrote criticising the wearing of the veil.
She was apprehended by police at around 9:40am outside the offices of Minivan Daily newspaper as she parked her motorcycle. Aniya was lifted into the back of a police van and taken to Police Headquarters, before being transferred to the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs for questioning.
She refused to answer questions without a lawyer present and arranged to return to the Supreme Council on Sunday at 10:30 with a lawyer.
Religious scholars at the Supreme Council told her that the article, which objected to the concept that a veil must be worn because men cannot control their temptations, was “against Islam,” and “against Islamic principles.”
The Supreme Council has been seeking to question Aniya since publication of the article on March 20. On April 24, when police asked Aniya to attend the SIC for questioning, but fell short of arresting her, the SIC denied they had asked the police to intervene.
Media Coordinator Mohamed Najeeb also said he was uncertain whether the Supreme Council has the power to command citizens to appear before them, or if they are allowed to involve the police.
Police had come to Aniya’s family home on six separate occasions on Tuesday and Wednesday asking to see her, but she was not there. Officers insisted on seeing her bedroom and took her phone number from her family.
After her article was published in Minivan Daily, Aniya was told to “repent or resign” from her post as Deputy Secretary General for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and chose to resign.
She went into hiding for her own safety, and has been keeping a low profile since the incident. |
