Maldives police said Thursday they had arrested the secretary of state for environment, who was accused by local media of using “black magic” against President Mohamed Muizzu.
Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, the Indian Ocean archipelago's secretary of state for environment, climate change and energy, was arrested along with two others in the capital Male on Sunday, police said.
She was remanded in custody for a week during an investigation, police officials added, without disclosing further details.
“Ms Shamnaz was reportedly arrested for performing black magic on President Mohamed Muizzu,” local media outlet the Sun reported.
The police did not want to confirm or deny this information.
The Maldives is on the front lines of the climate crisis, with rising sea levels likely to make the country virtually uninhabitable by the end of the century, according to UN environmental experts.
Two separate legal systems coexist in the archipelago, where Islam is the state religion. Witchcraft is not punishable under the penal code, but it is punishable by six months' imprisonment under Islamic law (Sharia).
The inhabitants of the archipelago commonly resort to traditional ceremonies, convinced that they will allow them to obtain favors or cast a spell on their adversaries.
A 62-year-old woman was stabbed to death by three of her neighbours on the island of Manadhoo in April 2023 after being accused of conducting black magic ceremonies, the Mihaaru news website reported last week, following a lengthy police investigation.
In 2012, police cracked down on an opposition political rally after accusing the organizers of throwing a rooster to cast a spell on officers who were raiding their offices.
