Police Claims Red Notice Issued for Ali Waheed's Arrest

The Maldives Police Service has announced that a Red Notice has been issued for the arrest of Ali Waheed, the former Tourism Minister who had fled to the United Kingdom while standing trial at the Criminal Court on grave charges of sexual harassment and rape.

The Police Service said that they were working with the Prosecutor General's Office to arrest Waheed as per the Red Notice issued by the Criminal Court.

Despite this claim, the Red Notice has not yet appeared on Interpol's website as of the publication of this article.

Ali Waheed left the country under the pretext of seeking medical treatment. He had appointed State Minister at the Youth Ministry, Ashadh Ali, as a bail bondsman. Ali Waheed remained in the United Kingdom beyond the duration which he had been granted by the Court; Ashadh has since been sentenced to a minor prison term for Waheed's actions.

The Police Service had previously claimed that they had been unable to arrest Waheed because they did not receive an English translation of the Court-issued arrest order.