Nasheed knows government wouldn’t interfere in parliament inquiry: President Solih

Speaker Nasheed and President Solih on Rahvehifathis campaign trail | Photo: MDP

Malé, Maldives – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed would be aware of the fact that government would not interfere with the Maldivian Parliaments inquiry over the security breach of Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed during May 6 terror attack.

President Solih’s remarks on the subject comes while Speaker Nasheed accused the President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of having a hand in stopping individual MNDF officers from being summoned to the parliament inquiry.

Speaking at the press conference held today, President Solih told that even the Committee Chair of 241 Committee, MP Mohamed Aslam had also stated that non of the government bodies has intervened in the parliament’s inquiry and that parliament can can carry out the inquiry in any manner as they wished.

[President] Nasheed will be fully aware that I won’t interfere in it [parliament inquiry]. Even though he has said that I do.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

The accusation from Speaker Nasheed came after MNDF denied the request of the parliament summon individual officers to the National Secutiy Services Committee. An issue against Deputy Minister of Defence, Hassan Zameel was then presented to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for signing and sending a letter to the Parliament denying the request. 

In addition to this, the issue of Zameel was also presented to the Parliament’s Commitee on Member’s Privileges and Ethics, however, the Committee announced that they have decided to not go forward the matter. 

While the national council WhatsApp group of MDP was on fire after the following events, the Chairperson of MDP, Hassan Latheef conveyed Speaker Nasheed’s message all the way from Germany which stated that he has no clue of why President Solih is influencing MNDF and stopping them from being presented to the parliament committee. 

You are attempting to hide every single thing. 

Speaker Nasheed at President Solih.

While Speaker Nasheed has accused President Solih of intervening with the Parliament inquiry, he has also been accused of having the upperhand in removing the case against Zameel as well. Some of the MDP members of the Parliament have stated that the brother-in-law of President Solih and the MP for Alifushi constituency, Mohamed Rasheed Hassan (Bigey) was behind the matter on the request of President Solih.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament and relative of Speaker Nasheed, Eva Abdullah has also tagged MP Mohamed Rasheed (Bigey) in their WhatsApp group and requested him to stop attempting to fail the inquiry against the people who attacked Speaker Nasheed on May 6th. 

Eva question is why Bigey always attempts to ruin the things the committee does on Speaker Nasheed’s request and whether the sympathetic days over the accident against Speaker Nasheed is already over.

Chief of Defence Force Major General Abdullah Shamaal was summoned to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security yesterday to question over the security breach of Former President and Current Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed during May 6 terror attack. The committee has also decided to summon Defence Minister Maria Didi to the committee although a certain date has not yet been announced.

Following the terror attack against the Former President on May 6, criticism has been aimed mainly at MNDF with allegations that they have failed to provide necessary security for the Speaker. 

The police is currently investigating the cause behind the attack on the Former President. 4 individuals have been arrested so far, all of them indicating radicalisation. The Parliamentary Committee is investigating into the security breach of the Speaker following the terror attack.

Speaker Nasheed still remains in Germany after he was released from the German medical hospital on May 21, where he went for recovery and rehabilitation for the injuries suffered in the May 6, 2021 assassination attempt on him. According to his family, he will remain in Germany for a month before returning back to Maldives. 

The IED explosion went off around 20:20 on 6 May leaving Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed critically injured while he was getting in to his car near his house, G. Kenereege, Malé City. In addition to him, 3 more people were also been reported to be injured from the explosion including the Speaker’s bodyguards and bystanders.

Nasheed was taken to ADK with heavy bleeding, and both internal and external shrapnel injuries. Ball bearings were found in Nasheed’s chest, near the heart. Injuries caused by these projectiles caused life threatening damage to the chest area. Nasheed endured major injury to the fourth rib, with a blade going through a lung. A projectile also went through his intestine with another near his liver. 

Speaker Nasheed was treated at the Critical Care Unit of ADK hospital in Malé until he was airlifted to Germany on May 13, 2021 for recovery and rehabilitation. Parliament had previously revealed that Speaker Nasheed’s medical expenses in Germany is being covered by Honorary Consul of Maldives in Germany, Christian Von Stetten.