Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has expressed concern, stating that efforts are being made to revive the fearful past of punishing those who criticize the government.

In a post on X, Solih said that summoning people to the police for social media posts and sending warning letters to councils is a step backward for freedom of expression and democracy, which Maldivian citizens have worked hard to achieve.

"It is concerning that the government is working to revive the fearful past where criticizing the government was made a crime and punishable," Solih said.

Solih made these comments in response to the police summoning MDP social media activist Hussein Shafiu (Charles Thuthu) tomorrow regarding a post he made on X. In addition to Solih, MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has also condemned this and criticized the government.

The police summons sent to Shafiu states that they are investigating a post he made on the social media platform "X" on November 8, which allegedly used obscene language and created fear. He has been asked to appear to give a statement regarding this matter tomorrow at 1:30 PM.