Former Maldives Vice President, Ahmed Adeeb (pictured) has been
convicted of plotting to assassinate the Pres. Yameen Abdul Gayoom, by
setting off a bomb on his speedboat in September 2015. He's been sentenced
to 15 years in prison. Adeeb who was once a close confidant of Gayoom,
was impeached in November last year after being accused of the
assassination plot.
Following a closed-door trial yesterday, the Criminal Court
found the ex-VP and two of his military bodyguards guilty of attempting
to kill the President who was with his wife and others in the boat. Gayoom escaped
unhurt, but his wife and two others were slightly injured.
After being enlisted to look into the incident, FBI
investigators reported there was no evidence that a bomb was behind the
blast. However, President Gayoom who is accused of jailing and silencing
his rivals in the country, seems to have found a way around it. Adeeb
was arrested by the police and tried in secret following allegations he
wanted to topple Gayoom. Reporters were barred from the trial after the
court invoked national security concerns and said it would not make the
hearings or verdict public.
With the sentencing, almost all of Gayoom's key rivals are
either living in exile or in jail in the island nation, which has been
rocked by political turmoil in recent years.
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