THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Maldivian national Fousiya Hassan, who was falsely implicated in the 1994 ISRO espionage case and later exonerated, passed away on Wednesday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sri Lanka. She was 79. Fouisya, a Madivian actor and member of the country’s national film censor board, was imprisoned for over three years after being accused in the case. A cancer patient, Fousia had been staying in Sri Lanka for the past many years for treatment.
Fousiya was the second accused in the case in which she was charged with spying Isro secrets allegedly with scientists Nambi Narayanan and Sasikumar. Fousiya’s compatriot Mariam Rasheeda was the prime accused in the case. All the accused were later exonerated by the Supreme Court. Born on January 8, 1942, Fousiya did her schooling in the Maldives and higher education in Colombo.
She entered government service in 1957 as a clerk in the Maldives foreign ministry. Fousiya, who has acted in several movies, served as Censor Board officer from 1998 to 2008.