Convicted former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor was shifted from Maafushu Prison to Dhoonidhoo Prison for security purposes, according to sources.
Mihaaru's sources report that a confidential letter signed by Minister of Home Affairs Azleen Ahmed addressed to Maldives Correctional Services state that until notified, the latter is requested to shift Adheeb to Dhoonidhoo Prison.
According to Maldives Police Service, Adheeb was shifted last Wednesday. However, neither Police nor Correctional Service revealed any more details about the change.
Dhoonidhoo Prison is specialized detention centre to hold suspected criminals who are ongoing trials.
Some lawyers say it is against the Constitution to keep a convicted prisoner in Dhoonidhoo.
According to the Parole Act, suspects under custody should be kept in Custodial Jail, while those whose trials are ongoing should be kept in a remand jail till sentenced under a court order. The general prisons are for convicted criminals only.
Adheeb's shift came in the wake of Galolhu South MP Ahmed Mahloof’s claims that Adheeb was kept in a “concrete hole” in Maafushi Prison, which Correctional Service has denied.
Convicted for orchestrating the blast aboard the presidential speedboat in an attempt to assassinate the president in September 2015 and charged with embezzling over MVR 1.2 billion in state funds through the Maldives’ main tourism promotion body, Adheeb has been sentenced to total 33 years in jail from various cases.
Sign In