Police seek charges against suspects accused of planting bomb

The police yesterday forwarded cases for prosecution against four suspects accused of planting a bomb near the presidential palace in Malé last November.

Hisham Wajeeh, spokesperson at the Prosecutor General’s office, told The Maldives Independent that charges might not be filed against all four suspects.

“There are four suspects in the case but all four may not necessarily be charged. Depending on evidence we may have to charge only the suspect with the strongest case [against him],” he said.

Hisham said the police are seeking terrorism charges against the four suspects under the new anti-terrorism law passed in late 2015. The law also includes provisions criminalising the possession and sale of weapons and explosives.

But the PG office will review the cases before deciding what charges to press, he added.

The improvised device explosive, made out of stick dynamite and wrapped in a t-shirt, was discovered inside a vehicle parked near Muleeaage on November 2. Explosives experts from the military defused the bomb about four hours after it was found based on military intelligence information.

President Abdulla Yameen, who lives in his private residence, only uses Muleeaage for official meetings.

The news of the bomb was met with disbelief by many members of the public.

It was found a few days after the arrest of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the president. The government says the September 28 explosion on the president’s speedboat was caused by a bomb.

The discovery of the IED along with a large cache of weapons submerged in a reef was cited as justification for the declaration of an unprecedented nationwide state of emergency in early November.