Thread: Maldives President Calls for Calm After Arrest of Vice President

The president of the tiny Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives on Sunday called for calm after police detained his No. 2 in connection with an explosion aboard the presidential boat last month.

Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor was taken into custody Saturday when he returned home from an official visit to China—the latest twist in the unsettled politics of the tiny country, best known for its beach resorts.

President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom told reporters that the decision to hold Mr. Adheeb was “for the security of the country,” according to the Associated Press.

Ismail Ali, a Maldives police spokesman, said Mr. Adheeb, 33 years old, was suspected of “involvement in the bomb blast” on Sept. 28 that wounded the country’s first lady and two others. The president was unhurt.

Mr. Adheeb was in custody and couldn’t be reached for comment. Earlier this month, he said, “I strongly deny these allegations and will remain steadfastly loyal” to the president. Mr. Adheeb’s lawyer said he had done nothing wrong.

Mr. Yameen’s government has faced criticism from the United Nations and human-rights groups for its prosecution and imprisonment of Mr. Yameen’s predecessor, Mohammad Nasheed, Maldives’ first democratically elected president.

In March, Mr. Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of unlawfully ordering the arrest of a judge during his time in office. U.N. rights officials said Mr. Nasheed’s trial was politically motivated and flawed.

In September, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein called for Mr. Nasheed’s release. He also called for a review of criminal cases against several hundred of Mr. Nasheed’s supporters who were arrested during political protests.

The Maldives government has maintained that the rule of law was followed in Mr. Nasheed’s trial and has invited his lawyers to appeal the verdict.

Maldives has a population of roughly 350,000 people—less than the city of Tampa, Fla.

Maldivian authorities initially said the explosion on Mr. Yameen’s boat appeared to be an accident, but said subsequent forensic findings pointed to an assassination attempt.

Maldives Home Minister Umar Naseer said this week that a bomb went off beneath Mr. Yameen’s preferred seat on the boat. The president was saved because he wasn’t sitting there when it detonated, Mr. Naseer said.

Since the blast, Mr. Yameen has fired his defense minister and police chief. Three soldiers have also been arrested in connection with the blast.

Under the constitution, if Mr. Yameen had perished, Mr. Adheeb, who has been vice president for three months, would have become president.

According to a statement on the website of the president’s office, Mr. Yameen told the Maldivian people in a speech on Sunday that the detention wouldn’t affect the government’s ability to operate.

Maldives President Calls for Calm After Arrest of Vice President - WSJ

Their legal system might be functioning better than ours; why wasn't George Bush Sr. arrested after the failed assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981?

Yes, it's well documented in numerous places that there was a connection between the attempted assassin's (Hinckley) family and the Bush family.

Full text of "The Bush Hinckley Connection"

Aging and death are the only forms of justice left, and I plan to celebrate on the day that old bastard's clock winds down.