An aide of the Maldives president has been in custody for almost three weeks on suspicion of using black magic against the first couple.
Former State Minister for Environment Fathmath Shamnaz is accused of practicing sorcery or black magic to attract President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, as reported by local media in late June. This sparked rumors on social media and caught the attention of international media.
Government spokeswoman Heena Waleed responded to inquiries from journalists, stating that the first family had not reported any such incidents to the police and that reports linking them to the arrests were false. However, the police confirmed that the case involved sorcery or black magic against Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed.
Shamnaz and her sister Hawwa Sana Saleem, along with an alleged practitioner of black magic, were arrested on June 23. The male suspect was released after a week, but Shamnaz and Sana remained in custody.
During their remand hearing on July 8, the Criminal Court granted an extension of detention for five more days. The women were apprehended after a police raid on their apartment in Malé, where various items, including phones, computers, a plush doll, and a lock of hair, were seized.
The police accused Shamnaz and Sana of paying the male suspect to perform sorcery and black magic to interfere in relationships. However, the Islamic Ministry concluded that the seized items were not related to black magic.
There were allegations that the police attempted to coerce Shamnaz into providing false testimony against her ex-husband Adam Rameez. Despite the denial from the police spokesman, Shamnaz’s lawyer claimed that the police wanted her to implicate Rameez.
Both Shamnaz and Rameez were involved in Maldivian politics, with Rameez serving as a senior aide to Muizzu during the presidential campaign. After Muizzu became president, Rameez held a prominent position in the President’s Office. Shamnaz was appointed as a State Minister at the Presidential Palace but was later transferred to another ministry.
Following rumors of a fallout between the president and Rameez, the couple resigned from the city council. Shamnaz was later suspended, sacked, and removed from the list of political appointees on the President’s Office website.
There were speculations about the true motives behind the arrests, with some alleging that the authorities were looking for evidence of corruption involving Muizzu. Opposition figures raised concerns over Shamnaz’s detention, especially as she was a mother with a breastfeeding child.
Arrests related to black magic are not uncommon in the Maldives, despite sorcery not being explicitly criminalized in the penal code. Suspects are often charged with possession of unlawful items associated with sorcery.