Maldivian ruling party MP killed in capital
An unidentified attacker stabbed and killed a Maldivian ruling party
legislator Tuesday in the first killing of a lawmaker in the Indian
Ocean archipelago, police said.
Afrasheem Ali, 46, a lawmaker from the Progressive Party of Maldives
(PPM), was attacked on the steps of his apartment in the capital island
Male early Tuesday, police spokesman Hassan Haneef told AFP.
"This is the first killing of an MP in the Maldives and we are yet to
establish a motive," Haneef said, adding that investigations were
underway to track down the killer. The murder came amid political
tensions in the nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims since president Mohamed
Nasheed was toppled in what he called a coup backed by Islamic
extremists and the military in February. A court in the Maldives on
Monday postponed Nasheed's trial on charges of abuse of power dating
back to his time in office after he defied a summons to appear in court.
Nasheed's opposition Maldivian Democratic Party condemned Ali's
killing while government officials said Ali would receive a state
funeral on Tuesday. AFP |