Main opposition in Maldives accuses President Muizzu of protecting criminals after attack on Prosecutor General

'The alleged close ties between top government officials and criminal gangs were resulting in open violent assaults on top state officials,' said the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the largest opposition party in the Maldives.

Male: Hours after the Prosecutor General of Maldives was attacked by unidentified persons on Monday, a blame game has erupted between the ruling and the opposition parties that called the attack “politically motivated,” according to local media and social media reports.

“Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem was attacked on a street in Male City. He is receiving treatment for his injuries at the ADK Hospital,” Sun.mv, a news portal, said.

Former Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih described the attack as “politically motivated,” prompting the Home Minister Ali Ihusan to ask him to share information to back his claim.

In a post on X, Solih, also the interim leader of the largest opposition outfit, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), said, “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.”

Home Minister Ali Ihusan asked Solih to share information to back his claim that the violent attack on Prosecutor General Shameem was politically motivated.

Responding to Solih’s post on X from his official designation’s handle of Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ihusan said, “Maldives police (@PoliceMv) is currently investigating this case. Former President declaring that the attack was ‘politically motivated’ suggests that former President has credible information about motive and people behind this attack.”

“I would like to request former President to please share the credible information referred here with the Police immediately. I have asked investigators to coordinate with former Presidents office in this regard. Police is treating this case as top priority and will bring perpetrators to justice,” he said.

Meanwhile, condemning the attack on Shameem, the MDP said in a statement, “The alleged close ties between top government officials and criminal gangs were resulting in open violent assaults on top state officials.”

The MDP accused President Muizzu’s administration of failing to provide proper protection to officials charged with fulfilling constitutional duties and responsibilities.

“This party also notes that after having successfully driven down violent assaults in the Maldives during the former administration, such crimes have increased after President Muizzu took office,” the portal reported, quoting the MDP statement.

Muizzu, considered to be close to China, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.

“This party believes that such fearless attacks on top state officials are a result of the close ties that top government officials have with criminal groups operating in the Maldives, and because of the protection the government provides these criminal groups,” the opposition party 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 the perpetrators to justice.

The Prosecutor General’s 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 Defense Force (MNDF) has strengthened Shameem's security following the attack, it added.

Much later in the evening, after discharge from the hospital, Prosecutor Shameem, thanking Allah, posted on his Facebook page “Thanks for all the love and well wishes ... I was attacked this morning ... fractured my left hand ... back home with family … will be back at work stronger and be back running, cycling and swimming even faster.”

Ibrahim Khaleel, the Minister for Strategic Communications at the President’s Office, told Sun that the government condemns the dangerous attack on Shameem in the harshest terms.

He said that the government will utilise all its resources and powers to bring perpetrators of such acts of terror to justice. “The government will work speedily by utilizing all its resources and options in order to bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice,” the Sun.mv quoted him as saying.