The Criminal Court has convicted four of seven men charged over an alleged plot to carry out a major terrorist attack, which police linked to an ISIS-supporting cell in Thimarafushi. It found the main charges unproven.
The four were found guilty of lesser offences. Abdulla Imaad received three years for supporting a terrorist group and 1 year, 7 months and 6 days for obstructing justice. Ali Muneez received 1 year, 9 months and 1 day for supporting a terrorist group. Ibrahim Looth received 1 year, 7 months and 6 days for obstructing justice. Ali Arham Mohamed received three years for supporting a terrorist group and five years for intending to join fighting abroad, eight years in all.
The court said the time Imaad, Muneez and Looth have already served covers their sentences, leaving Ali Arham Mohamed as the only one still in custody. It found charges of plotting a terrorist act, inciting terrorism and membership of a terrorist group unproven, and questioned the reliability of data taken from a phone submitted as evidence.
Charges were filed on 8 February 2021, evidence hearings ended in January 2026, closing statements were completed in April, and the verdict was delivered on 8 October. The Prosecutor General's Office said it will decide whether to appeal after receiving the case report.
