The May 6 inquiry report by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services has revealed Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed had been spied on for months before the attack against him.
The 242-page report by the parliamentary committee includes details of how the attack was carried out, and the intelligence information gathered during the inquiry. As such, the report revealed a group of people were found observing and photographing Speaker Nasheed from a distance, while he was attending a campaign event in Hulhumale’ on March 12, ahead of the local council elections. The report also revealed the suspects arrested in relation to the attack had surveilled the area surrounding the residence of the speaker on multiple occasions.
The report revealed Maldives Police Service (MPS) had collected over 200 pieces of evidence from the scene of the attack, including ball bearings, debris from the motorcycle to which the explosive device was attached, blood and other evidence. The report stated all evidence had been collected after MPS had taken over the crime scene.
The report by the parliamentary committee included 45 proposals, including providing 24-hour security at Nasheed's residence, penalising officials that had been negligent in their duties to safeguard Nasheed, and conducting an yearly performance review on Nasheed's security team. Furthermore, the report suggested appointing a national security advisor for the president, introducing laws on intelligence gathering, and establishing a system to quickly spread intelligence information on national security concerns to all national security services.
MPS had arrested five people directly in relation to the attack. This includes the individual who is believed to have triggered the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as Speaker Nasheed was getting into his car, and the owner of the motorcycle to which the IED was attached.