AP: Five arrested in connection with blast

The Associated Press (AP) has cited Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer and said that five people have been arrested in connection with the explosion on the presidential speedboat last month.

At a press conference yesterday, Umar Naseer said that the investigation team would leave “no stone unturned”, but did not mention the number of people arrested.

Umar Naseer told Sun Media that some news agencies have quoted him and said that five people have been arrested, but this is incorrect.

He declined to provide details, and did not reveal the number of arrests made.

Sun Media understands three arrests have been made so far, all of them officers of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Umar Naseer said the explosion device had been placed under the seat usually occupied by the president.

The president escaped unhurt because the seat happened to be occupied by First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim that day, Umar Naseer said.

The National Inquiry Commission, set up to probe the blast, has not provided any details or developments of the investigation.

“Our preliminary findings and the Sri Lankan team’s findings confirm that a bomb was detonated,” Umar Naseer said.

The explosion took place on the speedboat carrying President Abdulla Yameen as it approached Izzuddin Jetty in Malé on 28 September 2015. The president was returning from the hajj pilgrimage.