On January 31, 2024, the main opposition party in Maldives accused current pro-China president of the island nation Mohamed Muizzu’s administration of protecting criminal hours after an attack on the Prosecutor General according to local media reports. “Prosecutor General Hussian Shameem was attacked on the street in the city of Male. He is receiving treatment for his injuries at the ADK Hospital a Maldives based news agency reported.
MDP Statement
Condemning the attack on Shameem earlier in the morning, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in a statement said “The alleged close ties between top government officials and criminal gangs were resulting in open violent assaults on the top state officials. The MDP accused President Muizzu administration of failing to provide proper protection to officials charged with fulfilling constitutional duties and responsibilities.
“This party also notes that after successfully driven down violent assaults in the Maldives during the former administration, such crimes have increased after President Muizzu took charge of his office,” the official portal reported quoting the MDP Statement. Muizzu, considered close to China, defeated India friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in thr presidential run off held in September 2023.
“This party believes that such fearless attacks on top state officials are a result of the close ties that government officials have with criminal groups operating in the Maldives and because the protection the government provides these criminal groups.” the opposition party said.
Solih, the former Maldivian president and also the interim leader of the MDP in a post on X described the attack as politically motivated. “Politically motivated acts of violence have no place in a democratic society and I call on the government to be swift in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he said.
The MDP also called on the government to sever its alleged ties with criminal groups and to run a proper investigation into the attack on Shameem and bring perpetrators to justice. Meanwhile, the Prosecutors General Office (PGO) said in a statement that Shameem was attacked with a weapon by two people on a motorbike.
“While neither the PGO nor the police have specified the type of weapon used, a police spokesperson had said earlier that they had ruled out the use of a sharp-edged weapon,” the news portal said. The Maldives National Defence Force has strengthened Shameem’s security following the attack, it added.
Shameem’s Message
Much later in the evening, after discharge from the hospital, Prosecutor Shameem thanking God posted on his Facebook page “Thanks for all the love and well wishes. I was attacked this morning and my left hand was fractured. I am back home with family and will be back at work stronger and running, swimming and cycling even faster.”
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