A hearing in the trial for charges raised against Abdulla Ali Manik and Mohamed Thasleem in connection to the assassination attempt on the life of current Speaker of Parliament and Former President Mohamed Nasheed, has been held at the Criminal Court.

Presiding over the trial at the Criminal Court is Judge Ali Adam.

The hearing held on Wednesday revolved around the submission of evidence, where both state prosecutors and the defendant expressed readiness to submit evidence.

The state submitted evidence against the suspects, including secret witnesses, anonymous testimonies as well as other evidence including police intel reports, those who compiled the report, mobile forensic reports and those who compiled it as well as a resolution by the President’s Office, submitted to prove terrorist links to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Following the submissions by the state, the defendants also made their submissions.

Both the defendants and state revealed that they need time to gather submission before the trial which was granted by the court. As such, 12 days were granted to carry out the task.

The last hearing in connection to the case was held on 2 November 2021 during which the presiding judge revealed that the court also believes the suspects committed a major crime and that both of them have criminal records.

He also added that there is room to believe they could be a threat to national security and could possibly attempt to tamper with the evidence. With this, the court reached the decision to keep them remanded pending sentencing.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG Office) forwarded charges against the two, on 19 October 2021.

Charges against the suspects were raised under Article 16-1 (a) 1 and (b) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, for supporting a terrorist organization.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) earlier revealed that Thasleem was arrested from Addu City and findings indicate that he was one of the masterminds behind the assassination attempt. He was also someone who raised the suggestion to kill Nasheed.

Ali Manik is to have been involved in the clash in Himandhoo island of Alif Alif atoll in 2007 and was jailed for 10 years in connection to the case.

The police institution in July revealed that 10 suspects had been arrested in total. Shortly after the attack on May 6, authorities had announced plans to bring in foreign investigators to assist in the investigation. As such, a team from the Australian Federal Police is assisting in the probe, as well as American experts.

Nasheed was targeted in an assassination attempt on May 6, as he was heading out to attend an event in an island. The attack, which saw a remote-controlled IED explode near his residence in the center of congested Malé City, caused serious injuries to the ex-president who was rushed to the hospital within seven minutes after being knocked to the ground by the blast, which was dubbed far more powerful than the explosion in Sultan Park, 2007.

The shrapnel pieces from the bomb blast caused a substantial amount of damage to his internal organs, but had missed some vital arteries and organs. A shrapnel piece struck his rib, which otherwise would have struck his heart, leading to a fatality.  Speaker Nasheed underwent 16 hours of live-saving surgery at ADK hospital.

Nasheed returned to Maldives earlier in October 2021, after nearly five months abroad.