Maldives Prosecutor General attacked on Male City street, says report

The Prosecutor General of Maldives, Hussain Shameem, was injured after he was attacked on a street in Male City, reported local media on Wednesday.

The attack was reported to authorities on Wednesday morning, according to a report in the local daily SunOnline quoting a police spokesperson. Shameem is being treated at the ADK Hospital in the country, it added. “Preliminary findings establish that he was not attacked with a sharp-edged weapon,” the police spokesperson told SunOnline.

Shameem was appointed by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, which was previously in power. He has continued in the post after Mohamed Muizzu defeated then-Preisdent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.

Reacting to the news, MDP said in a statement that the attack appears to be “pre-mediated and well-planned.”

“Maldives Prosecutor General, Hussain Shameem, brutally attacked today with a machete in broad daylight. Since the attack took place on the street, it is considered to be pre-mediated and well-planned. Such an attack on a person holding a highly constitutionally appointed position in the state to avoid politics and perform important duties within the criminal justice system is an attack on the entire system. It’s a dangerous signal. The incident is being investigated by the Maldives Police,” it said in a statement, as per news agency ANI.

The attack comes amid political turmoil in the country. Two days ago, visuals of MPs exchanging blows at the Parliament floor had been widely shared on social media, triggering criticism. Videos showed Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Isa fighting with ruling Peoples’ National Congress (PNC) MP Abdullah Shaheem Abdul Hakeem. A member of parliament was brought to an ambulance after suffering injuries, the local media reported.

Following this, Opposition parties in the country had readied an impeachment motion against President Muizzu who had already been embroiled in a controversy over frosty relations with India following disparaging social media posts against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three now-suspended ministers in his government.

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