Former Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer on Monday confirmed that the president was referring to jailed former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb when he claimed that a former top state official had met with Hussain Humam, the killer of former Ungoofaaru MP Dr Afrasheem Ali, at a resort illegally while Humam was serving his sentence in Maafushi Prison. Umar declared that the investigation into the alleged meeting commenced after the explosion aboard the presidential speedboat in September 2015.
Speaking at a ceremony of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) held at State Electric Company (STELCO) on Sunday, President Yameen had declared that new information has been uncovered into the brutal killing of Dr Afrasheem Ali in 2012. He claimed without revealing an identity that a former top government official had had Hussain Humam illegally taken out of prison and met with the inmate at a resort. The president added that the issue is currently under investigation.
The rumour had been in circulation on social media long before President Yameen’s announcement of the probe. However, the home ministry, Police and Maldives Correctional Service had not addressed the rumours at the time.
In response to Mihaaru’s inquiry regarding President Yameen’s claims, former Home Minister Umar Naseer disclosed that President Yameen had ordered an investigation after he received information that his former trusted deputy had met Hussain Humam at the resort. Umar confirmed that officers of Maldives Corrections Service have also been interrogated.
“But there was no evidence then that the meeting took place. They proceeded with the probe and even questioned [the people involved]. The president was referring to that investigation yesterday,” he said.
According to President Yameen, two guards at Maafushi Prison had witnessed Hussain Humam being taken out of prison, He stated that one of the guards has given their testimony to Police.
In response to Mihaaru’s inquiry as to why Adheeb's meeting with Hussain Humam was kept secret while the government had been regularly updating the public on the progress of Dr Afrasheem’s murder investigation, Umar Naseer responded that all the details of the investigation were not shared with the public. He added that Adheeb had been an extremely influential individual who held much sway over the Police and Correctional Service at the time.
Umar further noted that President Yameen had also curtailed the former’s authorities and powers as the home minister then.
Hussain Humam is on death row for the murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali though the full investigation into the case is still incomplete. While Police claim that Dr Afrasheem’s murder was driven by political motives and that it was a paid assassination, Police are yet to find the perpetrators who ordered the killing.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Adheeb is serving a jail sentence of 33 years for his involvement in the largest corruption scandal to rock the country as well as for orchestrating the blast aboard the presidential speedboat in 2015 in a failed attempt to assassinate President Yameen.
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