President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has appointed Abbas Faiz as the Special Envoy to the Government of Maldives to monitor the investigation, prosecution and trial of the terrorist attack against Speaker of Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The President's Office have affirmed they will be providing all support and administrative assistance needed by the Special Envoy for the duration of their appointment, for which they will be stationed at the President's Office.

The Special Envoy is mandated to ensure that all stages of the investigation, prosecution and trial of the alleged perpetrators, and any related and necessary inquiries, comply with international best practice and national laws to ensure public confidence in the integrity of these processes. Special Envoy Abbas Faiz's oversight of the ongoing investigation will be conducted within parameters set forth by the Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem.

Abbas Faiz, a British national, was appointed as a Special Envoy to the Government of Maldives on Thursday. With more than 30 years of experience in monitoring human rights in the South Asian region, Abbas was previously employed at Amnesty International as the most senior advisor to the Secretary-General on the countries in his brief and has worked as a Lecturer in Law in the Schools of Law, Essex University, UK, for the past three years. He has also published articles on human rights in the Guardian, New Statesman, the Lancet and in several South Asian newspapers, including several papers on the human rights situation in the Maldives.