Maldives opposition accuses President Muizzu of protecting criminals after attack on Prosecutor General

Hours after an attack on the Prosecutor General, the largest opposition party in the Maldives on Wednesday accused President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration of protecting criminals, according to local media reports.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) condemned the attack on Shameem earlier in the morning. “The alleged close ties between top government officials and criminal gangs were resulting in open violent assaults on top state officials,” it said in a statement.

“Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem was attacked on a street in Male City. He is receiving treatment for his injuries at the ADK Hospital,” Sun.mv, a news portal, said.

The MDP accused President Muizzu’s administration of failing to provide proper protection to officials charged with fulfilling constitutional duties and responsibilities.“This party also notes that after having successfully driven down violent assaults in the Maldives during the former administration, such crimes have increased after President Muizzu took office,” the portal reported, quoting the MDP statement.

Muizzu, considered to be close to China, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year.“This party believes that such fearless attacks on top state officials are a result of the close ties that top government officials have with criminal groups operating in the Maldives, and because of the protection the government provides these criminal groups,” the opposition party said.

Solih, the former Maldivian president and also the interim leader of MDP, in a post on X, described the attack as “politically motivated.”“Politically motivated acts of violence have no place in a democratic society and I call on the government to be swift in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he said.

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The MDP also called on the government “to sever its alleged ties with criminal groups,” and to run a proper investigation into the attack on Shameem and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) said in a statement that Shameem was attacked with a weapon by two people on a motorbike." While neither the PGO nor the police have specified the type of weapon used, a police spokesperson had said earlier that they had ruled out the use of a sharp-edged weapon,” the news portal said.

The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has strengthened Shameem’s security following the attack, it added.

With inputs from agencies.