Maldives VP arrested over plot to assassinate president

Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was arrested on Saturday on charges of high treason. Maldivian authorities said that Adeeb was arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen while he was on board a board last month.

 “VP Adheeb under arrest and held in Dhoonidhoo Detention (prison island),” Umar Naseer said on Twitter, using a different spelling of the vice president’s name. “Charges: high treason.”

Adeeb, 33, was arrested at the Maldives’ main international airport as he returned home from Singapore.

Confirming his arrest, Maldivian police said that Adeeb had a role to play in the explosion that occurred on the boat while the president was returning from a pilgrimage from Saudi Arabia on September 28.

Yameen appointed Adeeb as his deputy three months ago after impeaching his original running mate Mohamed Jameel on charges of treason.

The attack on the president’s speedboat occurred as he was about to disembark at the capital island Male after returning from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The Maldivian leader was unhurt in the blast but his wife and two others suffered minor injuries.

Image: Ahmed Adeeb, 33, Maldives vice president, was arrested at the main airport for his alleged role in the explosion that occurred on the boat while the president was returning from a pilgrimage from Saudi Arabia on September 28. Photograph: @Ahmed_Adeeb/Twitter