Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed has stated that the five individuals arrested in connection to the May 6 blast are linked to terrorist organization, ISIS.
In an interview given to India's WION News; his first TV interview since the May 6 attack that targeted him, Nasheed said the arrested suspects are linked to extremist Islamic ideology, especially that of ISIS. Nasheed said although a remote device detonation has not been used in any attack given in the Maldives until now, other such attacks have been conducted in the Maldives, and there have been three murders that were carried out similarly.
Nasheed said while a fair number of Maldivians have traveled to take part in Syria's war and other places, the vast majority of Maldivian people are progressive and liberal-minded. The four elections conducted after the 2008 constitution was ratified suggest that extremist views have no place in the Maldives, said Nasheed.
Nasheed said the government of Maldives is investigating the May 6 attack, but expressed concern that authorities have not been able to get to the bottom of the issue and have not been able to identify the schemers and the funders of the attack.
The police have previously said the five people arrested in connection to the attack have extremist ideologies. However, the police have not linked the suspects to ISIS.
