The Vice President of the Maldives will be charged with high treason after being arrested today in connection with an explosion aboard the president's boat last month that authorities have called an assassination attempt, officials said.
Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was arrested at the airport when he returned home from an official visit to China "on suspicion of involvement in the boat blast," said police spokesman Ismail Ali, adding that Adeeb had been taken to a detention center.
Home Minister Umar Naseer said that Adeeb would be charged with "high treason," an offense not specified in the penal code, but a term used in the Maldives for terrorism or offenses against the state by government officials, lawmakers, judges and others.
Naseer told The Associated Press that the evidence against Adeeb was "very strong and God willing we'll get to the bottom of it. The investigation is still very raw."
He said police were continuing to search homes and offices used by Adeeb and his associates.
Adeeb's lawyer, Hussain Shameem, denied the allegations against the Vice President.
"There is nothing to warrant an arrest. It is politically motivated," he told the AP.
He declined to comment further, but was scheduled to speak to the media later today.
The arrest adds to the political tensions of this already fragile, young democracy, which has in recent years been rocked by power struggles, disputed elections and crackdowns on the opposition.
The Maldives, however, a South Asian archipelago, is best known to much of the world for its luxury resorts.
Soon after the Sept. 28 blast aboard President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's speedboat, rumours began circulating that Adeeb was behind it, but he has denied that he was involved.
If the president dies, is incapacitated or resigns, the vice president succeeds him, according to the Maldives' constitution.
Three soldiers, including a former member of Adeeb's security detail and a member of the army's bomb squad, were also arrested today in connection with the blast, Deputy Police Commissioner Abdullah Nawaz said.
The explosion took place aboard Gayoom's boat as he and his wife were returning to Male, the capital, from the airport after a hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The Maldives' airport is on a separate island from the capital.
Gayoom escaped unhurt, but his wife, an aide and a bodyguard were injured in the blast.
