Updated May 7th, 2021 at 01:45 IST
Police: Maldives Speaker Mohamed Nasheed injured in blast
Maldives' first democratically elected president and current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has been injured in a blast Thursday near his home and was being treated in a hospital in the capital, police said.
Advertisement
Maldives' first democratically elected president and current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has been injured in a blast Thursday near his home and was being treated in a hospital in the capital, police said. The police media unit text message did not give more details but said it has started investigations and urged the public to refrain from going to the blast area in the capital, Male. Maldives Home Minister Imran Abdulla told local television that Nasheed's injuries were not life-threatening and that the government will get the assistance of foreign agencies in the investigations.
Following an explosion on Neeloafaru Magu in Malé, Speaker of Parliament President Mohamed Nasheed has sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at ADK Hospital.
— Maldives Police (@PoliceMv)
1/2
First democratically elected leader
Nasheed, now 53, became the first democratically elected leader of the archipelago state after a 30-year autocratic rule. He served as president from 2008 until 2012 when he resigned amid public protests. He was defeated in the following presidential election and became ineligible to enter the 2018 election due to a prison sentence. His party colleague Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the 2018 presidential election.
In 2019, Nasheed was elected Parliament speaker and he has remained an influential political figure in the country. Photos circulated on social media showed a ripped up motorcycle at the scene but police did not say whether the blast was an assassination attempt.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a tweet said, “Wish him a speedy recovery. Know that he will never be intimidated." Nasheed is known as a champion against global warming and an outspoken critic of religious extremism in this predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, where preaching and practising other faiths are banned by law. The Maldives is known for its luxury resort islands but has seen rare violent attacks. In 2007, a blast in a park in the capital wounded 12 foreign tourists.
Image: API
Advertisement
Published May 7th, 2021 at 01:45 IST