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Ex-spokesperson Muaz changed allegiance after receiving benefits: Yameen

Ahmed Aiham
09 January 2019, MVT 16:18
presdent abdulla yameen press
Ahmed Aiham
09 January 2019, MVT 16:18

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, on Tuesday, refuted the claims made by the former spokesperson for the President's Office, Ibrahim Muaz Ali, regarding the explosion aboard the presidential speedboat in September 2015, as an enacted drama.

During a meeting with the press following his summons to the police in regards to the alleged money laundering and embezzlement case, Yameen accused Muaz of receiving benefits that influenced his sudden change of opinions regarding how the incident took place.

Yameen added that reporters, instead of believing Muaz's story, should probe Muaz as to what he received as a "reward" for changing his story.

"Why did he have to talk about it today? Why didn't he speak about it all these days?"

"While I was inside my launch, with my wife and kids, would I be the one trying to blow up the launch?", said Yameen.

Furthermore, Yameen questioned whether people should lean towards the opinions of an individual as opposed to the investigations made by a presidential commission and the investigative institutions of the state.

In a sudden appearance of shifting allegiance against Yameen, Muaz had claimed there were "strange" occurrences prior to the explosion on the 'Finifenma' speedboat. He noted that Yameen, who at the time had returned from Hajj pilgrimage with former First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim, had planned to speak to the press at the presidential jetty 'Izzudheen Faalan' in capital Male' instead of the VIP lounge in Velana International Airport, which was his usual practice.

While Muaz claimed that he did not see any signs of fire on the speedboat, he stated that Umar Naseer, who was the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, had later handed him a video of the incident, which depicted fire on the speedboat. He had commented that the video could have been edited by a computer designer or video editor.

Referring to Muaz's allegations, Yameen urged prominent video editors to examine the video evidence.

The explosion aboard the Finifenma speedboat was one of the most shocking events in 2015. The incident was part of then Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb's sudden downfall, in which he was convicted of orchestrating the explosion. Two of Adheeb's bodyguards were also found guilty.

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