Saud’s trial to proceed Thursday after deadline to appoint lawyer

The Criminal Court has scheduled a hearing for Thinadhoo Mayor Saud Ali on Thursday, after previously granting him a 10-day period to appoint legal counsel for his defence. 

The court has set the session for 1:00 pm, where Saud will face two charges: knowingly submitting an invalid document and providing false information to an official agency. If convicted, he faces a combined sentence of up to two years in prison.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Saud submitted population lists to the Local Government Authority (LGA) that included deceased individuals and other invalid entries in an effort to show that Thinadhoo’s population had reached the 10,000-resident threshold required for city status. Prosecutors also allege that Saud misled police by failing to provide requested documents and later claiming that no records existed.

Mayor Saud has denied the allegations, describing the case as a politically motivated attempt to remove him from office.

Thinadhoo North MP Saudulla Hilmy first raised the issue in Parliament and the LGA in 2024, arguing that Thinadhoo’s designation as a city was illegal. He claimed the population figure of 10,150 was fabricated and alleged that councillors pursued city status after former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih promised to grant it. Thinadhoo was officially declared a city on August 30, 2023, during Solih’s presidential campaign, and the current administration has maintained the designation.