Suspected Mastermind of Attack on Pres. Nasheed Arrested

Police on Saturday arrested the suspected mastermind behind the May 6 attack on former President and incumbent Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.

The arrest was revealed during a press conference on Saturday night held by police and the Prosecutor General. According to Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed, the suspect played a major role in planning the attack convincing others that Nasheed deserved to die.

Mohamed Thasleem, originally from Hoarafushi, Haa Alif Atoll, was arrested in Addu City on suspicion of recruiting people into extremism and convincing them that President Nasheed deserved to die. He was once arrested in Addu during a previous police operation. He was then released and later arrested again on Saturday.

Thasleem has previously been arrested on suspicion of attempting to prepare a bomb in a private office in Male’. He was arrested in 2017, and freed in October 2018. CP Hameed stated that although two years have passed since the state appealed his release, a decision has yet to be made, so the state has recalled the matter in relation to the attack on President Nasheed.