Police deny that ex-VP Adeeb has reached Maldives, after unsuccessful flee attempt

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has denied that former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has reached Maldives, after being sent back by India following an unsuccessful flee attempt.

Police denied this after reports emerged that he has been brought back to the country.

Noting that Adeeb “is not here yet,” police said that the media will be informed after his arrival.

Reports of Adeeb being detained in India in an attempt to flee from authorities emerged on Thursday; he is to have traveled there on a tugboat ‘Virgo 9’.

While Virgo 9 reached Tuticorin Old Port in Tamil Nadu on Thursday morning, it was denied permission to dock after authorities learnt of Adeeb’s presence on the boat.

Adeeb, along with the nine crew members on-board the tugboat, were handed over to Maldivian security, after denying entry into India.

India’s decision comes after an asylum plea from the former VP, claiming threats to his life.

In a statement issued on Friday, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers- the firm representing Adeeb- said that “there is a very real and demonstrable risk that his fundamental rights and freedoms will be violated” if he is returned home and that he “is at risk of becoming a victim of a politically motivated justice system.”

It also reminded the Indian government of its “obligations under international law, adding that it does not matter that the former VP had entered India illegally given that “once a claim of asylum is made, the appropriate authorities are required to consider it" ; India is yet to enact a uniform law that addresses the issue of asylum and is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.

‘New Indian Express’ reports that Indian officials had initiated an inquiry following Adeeb’s asylum plea, but noted that it had led to the discovery that the former vice president's entry was “not through a designated point and he did not possess valid travel documents.”

Police raided Adeeb’s residence on Saturday night, after obtaining a court order to do so. They entered his apartment at around 10:30pm and left after 1:30am. Adeeb’s wife and defence attorney were present during the raid.

Adeeb was impeached as VP in November 2015, after being arrested in connection with a blast aboard the presidential speedboat that the government says was an assassination attempt on then President Abdulla Yameen.

While Yameen has since been charged with money laundering, the state has named his former deputy as a witness in the case. The hearings in the case are being broadcast live, and Adeeb is expected to testify at the hearing set for Sunday.

While Adeeb was sentenced to 33 years in prison over various charges including terrorism and corruption, his sentences were overturned this year. However, the court had ordered retrials in two cases, and the state has appealed one of the the verdicts which led to the confiscation of his passport.