Criminal Court grants Mayor Saad Ali final chance to appoint lawyer in population manipulation case

The Criminal Court has granted Thinaadhoo Mayor Saad Ali a final opportunity to appoint a lawyer to defend himself against charges of manipulating population figures to secure city status for the island. The court had previously given Saad 10 days on October 5 to appoint a lawyer, but he failed to appear for the hearing last Thursday and appeared today without legal representation. Judge Ahmed Shafeeu, presiding over the case, noted that Saad's absence from the hearing without a lawyer and his failure to appear at the most recently scheduled hearing were unacceptable. Nonetheless, the judge granted another 10-day period for Saad to appoint a lawyer, warning that if he appears without one on November 10, proceedings will continue. The charges, filed by the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGO), allege that on September 4, 2022, Saad sent a false list to the Local Government Authority (LGA) claiming Thinaadhoo's population had reached 10,000 in an effort to gain city status. The PGO stated the list included deceased individuals and unverified data. When the LGA requested a true list with ID card numbers, Saad sent a signed list on August 13, 2023, claiming a population of 10,500, which the PGO said contained information about individuals registered in other islands and repeated names.