Maldives blast: Former Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb found guilty

Ahmed Adeeb denied playing a part in the explosion

The former vice-president of the Maldives has been convicted over a plot to assassinate the current president.

President Abdulla Yameen narrowly escaped injury when a blast struck the boat he was using to return home from the airport last September.

The blast was described as an assassination attempt

His then-deputy Ahmed Adeeb was arrested weeks later and charged with high treason. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday, days after receiving a 10-year sentence for owning firearms.

Adeeb denied playing any part in the blast, which the prosecution maintained was caused by a bomb. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, one of a number of agencies asked by the government to help with the investigation, said no bomb exploded.


In recent years, the Maldives has been rocked by political infighting. "The criminal court has barred me from calling the trial unfair, but we have concerns and intend to launch an appeal immediately," Adeeb's lawyer, Moosa Siraj, told the Maldives Independent website.

"This was by no means a fair trial," Adeeb's second wife, Mariyam Nashwa, told the Maldives Independent.
"The investigation was nowhere near complete. I think they closed the trial because they are afraid Adeeb might say something."

Two of Adeeb's bodyguards were given 10-year sentences for their role. President Yameen and his wife were travelling to Male from Hulhule island where the airport is located on 28 September when their speedboat was hit by the blast.

They had been to the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The president was unhurt, but his wife and and a number of others were injured when the device went off under a seat normally - but not in this instance - occupied by Mr Yameen.

Soon after the blast, speculation began to grow that Adeeb was involved, reports say. Under the Maldivian constitution, the vice-president succeeds the president if he dies, is incapacitated or resigns.

Officials described the attack as an assassination attempt. Mr Yameen's predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted in a coup in 2012, was given refugee status in the UK last month.