MALI: Minister of State for Environment Shamnaz Saleem and her ex-husband Adam Ramez, a minister in the Office of the President, were arrested along with two others.
The police did not release details about the motive or practice of black magic.
Although witchcraft is not a crime under Maldivian law, it is punishable by six months in prison under Islamic law.
After Muizzu was elected president last November, Shamnaz was appointed minister of state in the presidential palace and later transferred to the Ministry of Environment.
The four accused were jailed for seven days and Shamnaz was fired from his job at the Ministry of Environment.
Neither the Maldivian government nor the Office of the President has made an official comment on the matter.
In 2012, police accused organizers of an opposition political rally in the Maldives of throwing “cursed cocks” at officers who stormed their offices.
Black magic rituals and beliefs are widely practiced in the Maldivian islands.
However, the recent incident involving the arrest of two ministers in charge on charges of using witchcraft against the president is unprecedented in the Maldives.
