PNC accuses gov't of "hoodwinking" public in Luthufee's case
Luthufee was convicted and sentenced to life in prison over the 1988 attempted coup, but had been in hiding since being granted medical leave in 2010
Former President Abdulla Yameen at PNC\'s national congress
Opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) has accused the government of “hoodwinking” the public in Abdulla Luthufee’s case.
Luthufee was convicted and sentenced to life in prison over the 1988 attempted coup, but had been in hiding since being granted medical leave in 2010.
While he is to have turned himself in to the Maldivian embassy in Sri Lanka, on May 1, this was only revealed on June 24.
In a statement released on Thursday, the party called on the government to apologize to the public for tricking them in the case.
It also accused the government of helping him hide in Sri Lanka, adding that “this is the clear truth.”
Further condemning the government, PNC also criticized the foreign ministry’s statement in the matter.
The ministry, on Wednesday, released a statement detailing the various obstacles being faced in the work to extradite Luthufee from the neighboring country. It noted that Maldives’ decision to leave the Commonwealth has led to concerns over the validity of the extradition agreement between both countries; while the decision to leave the organization was made during the previous administration, PNC was formed by then senior government officials including then-President Abdulla Yameen.
However, PNC’s statement noted this “should not affect the bilateral agreement between Maldives and Sri Lanka,” adding that the cases “are not connected to each other.”
