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The
vice-president of the Maldives has been arrested in
connection with an alleged plot to
assassinate the president, the home minister says.
Ahmed
Adeeb was in detention and being charged with high treason, Umar Naseersaid on
Twitter.
President
Abdulla Yameen narrowly escaped injury when a blast struck the boathe was
using to return home from the airport late last month.
In
recent years, the Maldives has been rocked by political infighting.
Mr
Yameen's election has been the subject of drawn-out wrangling.
Security
has been tightened in the capital Male amid fears of "turmoil"
triggered by the arrest, says the Maldivian newspaper Haveeru.
"By
early morning Saturday, lorries loaded with policemen and soldiers were seen on
nearly every street," it reports.
Four
others were also arrested on Saturday, the Maldives Independent websitequoted
police sub inspector Abdulla Nawaz as saying, but he gave no further details.
The
website said Mr Adeeb's arrest had "surprised and enthralled many Maldivians".
Police arrested
President
Yameen and his wife were travelling to Male from the island where the airport
is located on 28 September when their speedboat was hit by the bomb blast.
They
had been to the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The
president was unhurt, but his wife and and a number of others were injured when
the device went off under a seat normally - but not in this instance - occupied
by Mr Yameen.
Officials
described the attack as an assassination attempt and had arrested two senior
police officers - a week after the president fired his defence minister.
But
on Saturday Mr Adeeb too was arrested at the airport as he returned from an
official overseas visit, police confirmed.
Home
Minister Naseer said he was being held on a prison island.
Mr
Adeeb, who has denied any links to the explosion, had only been vice-president
for three months.
He
came to office when the previous vice-president was sacked by Mr Yameen, also
on charges of treason.
Source:
BBC
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