Aishath Shimon, 20, one of the most influential young leaders of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), knows that the regime might politically target her in any way at any time.
She knows that the most powerful weapon used by the regime against political rivals is state resources. She understands that state offices and independent institutions would be ready to follow any orders.
However, Shimon did not think that her phone would be snatched, and the private information and photos it contained would be leaked to the world. She had never thought that the police would stoop so low on the orders of their chief.
"Some time that night [Thursday] ... a fake account on social media called 'Shimon's iPhone', I don't remember exactly, started leaking information from my phone," Shimon told Adhadhu in an exclusive interview.
According to Shimon, the private photo leaked from an account opened on social media platform X on Thursday was a picture of her she took herself when she was 16 years old. The photo is only on the confiscated device.
"The account has now been reported and suspended. That information was only on my phone. Nowhere else. That photo cannot be found anywhere else. Police took my phone, confiscated it and less than 24 hours passed before it was leaked. That information will not be anywhere else," she ascertained.
Shiman was a leader of the youth protests held in Male' earlier this year.
Shimon said with certainty that the information on her phone was leaked by the police. She believes that the purpose of doing so is to intimidate her and silence her.
"I believe that they took my phone and confiscated it... they took the information on the phone and leaked the photo. They are doing it now to intimidate and silence me. It is clear that they leaked the photo. There is no question about it. There is no doubt," she added.
There are other actions by the police which indicate they want to intimidate the young activist. More than 20 police officers cornered her near her home to confiscate the phone. The whole street was crowded with police.
“What happened that night was that there was a policeman near the door in front of my house. He identified himself as a police officer and asked my name and said there was a court order to search me. Then he told me to wait until a female officer comes to conduct the search. So I was waiting and when they came, I don't know exactly how many of them. But definitely more than 20 police officers came. The bystanders would have seen," Shimon said.
The first thing the police did when they arrived was to search Shimon's body while keeping her on the street, as if they had nabbed a career criminal. Then they snatched her phone without showing a warrant to confiscate it.
"After checking my body, they said they are confiscating my phone. But they didn't show the warrant to confiscate it. I said, the warrant you gave me is for searching my body, not to confiscate my phone. So you can't take my phone," she said.
"They repeated that they had the warrant for confiscation, but didn't show it. Then they talked among themselves, took out the confiscation order and gave it. But they had already snatched the phone. The warrant was shown later."
Shimon believes the police leaking her private information has exposed their brutality and ill practices even more at a time when there is growing discontent over the police conduct and investigations. It shows the extent to which the police had become politicised and how low it can stoop, she said.
"They should take responsibility for the leak of data on a phone that is currently in their custody. The person's phone is connected to their private life. The phone will have personal information, personal photos, everything. Bank details, work details, education details," she stated.
"Confiscating phones and doing things like this shows how much political influence there is in the police."
Another reason that proves the police were behind leaking the photo is the things they told Shimon and her lawyer, Aik Ahmed Easa. After the photo was leaked, police rushed to hand over the phone. "We've done what we wanted," they told the young activist.
"We asked them to bring the phone to where we were. They didn't come. After a while, they called us just before sunset and said they were returning the phone, to come and get it. Then we asked them what happened. It usually takes about a week for forensic analysis when a phone is confiscated," Aik said.
"So we knew something was not right and we questioned further. Why are you returning the phone? Then the IO [Investigating Officer] said we have done what we wanted."
According to the court warrant, police feel a comment on social media X by Shimon could encourage the assassination of President Mohamed Muizzu. That is a serious and grave accusation. But, since the photo was leaked, the accusation has gone up in smoke. Police no longer want her statement since they have got what they "want."
Shimon was arrested from youth protests earlier this year and is facing up to one year prison for police obstruction charges.
Another indication that the police worked for political purposes is the threats Shimon had received in the past. People with ties to the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) have repeatedly threatened to "expose" her.
"The government's mouthpieces have been threatening for a long time. They say they will find nude pictures and leak them. There are people on different platforms talking like that," Aik said.
The police wanted to intimidate and discourage the young activist. They wanted to kill her motivation and passion. They wanted to silence her voice, no matter how dirty their tricks. But they have failed their objective. Shimon remains strong and her passion for positive change is more powerful than before. But the dirty tactics of the police force and their leaders have been exposed, adding another crime to the growing list of wrongdoing and human rights abuses in the regime of President Mohamed Muizzu.
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This article was first written in Dhivehi by Ahmed Aaidh.
