Criminal Court of the Maldives has sentenced Abdulla Luthufee to an additional 7 months and 18 days in prison for fleeing the country while undergoing a life sentence.
The conspirator behind the failed coup d'état of 1988 was charged with fleeing from prison after he was granted medical leave in 2010 under a temporary travel document. The charges stated since his travel on January 16, 2010, he absconded from authority until May 1, 2019. He had been living in hiding in Sri Lanka until he was forced to turn himself in to the Maldivian embassy after the Sri Lankan police launched a nation-wide search for illegal residents following the terror attacks in April 2019.
During the trial, Luthufee pleaded guilty to the charges and requested for leniency. He also requested to be transferred to house arrest for the remainder of his original prison sentence, citing his ill health. However, the state objected to this request as he had already fled the country in the pretense of seeking medical treatment.
The Criminal Court ruled that there were no grounds to grant leniency to Luthufee for fleeing the country. Therefore, the court sentenced him to an additional 7 months and 18 days in prison.
Luthufee was initially sentenced to death following the attempted coup which killed 19 Maldivians. His sentence was reduced to a 25-year life imprisonment during the administration of President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.