Criminal Court of the Maldives has sentenced Adhuham Ahmed Rasheed to 23 years in prison over his involvement in the May 6 terrorist attack that severely injured Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The state charged Adhuham with attempting a terrorist act, planning a terrorist act, supporting a terrorist group, and attempted murder with the use of a weapon.
Adhuham had signed a plea bargain with the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), allowing him to receive a 23-year prison sentence. The bench of judges sentenced him to serve 22 years, four months, and 23 days in prison after counting the number of days he has already spent imprisoned as time-served.
During the sentencing hearing, Adhuham expressed remorse and asked forgiveness from Speaker Nasheed, the other victims and citizens, and said he will not repeat such an act.
Speaker Nasheed was severely injured after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a motorcycle was triggered while he was getting in his car on the night of May 6. The attack left Nasheed with serious injuries, requiring multiple life-saving surgeries and additional medical treatment in Germany and the United Kingdom.
The PGO pressed charges against several suspects over the attack, following the police investigation. Adhuham was the primary suspect who had waited at the scene of the incident and detonated the IED by remote as Nasheed was entering his car. He was arrested in Hulhumale' within 15 hours after MPS revealed footage near the scene of the incident.