Convicted former Vice President of the Maldives, Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor is under house arrest as he requires special machinery to aid his sleep, the Home Minister has said.
Adeeb has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being convicted on seven different charges. The sentence was delivered on October 5th, and Adeeb had been on house arrest even then. He has not been transferred to jail to date.
During a program aired by the state radio station on Saturday in which the minister appeared as a guest, a listener asked the minister regarding Adeeb’s house arrest status. In his response, the minister said after the former VP suffered a fall while in jail over a previous conviction, doctors recommended using a special device to aid his sleep. Since such a machine is not installed at the jail, Adeeb is currently under home arrest for this reason, said Imran.
‘Ahmed Adeeb’s doctors have advised that he suffers from some sleep issues as well as lung issues. While he was previously jailed, he suffered a fall in his jail cell, during which he sustained injuries to his forehead. There was some inflammation and some other issue. After that, the doctors advised that he needs a special device to aid his sleep. The decision to accommodate house arrest was based on the fact that the machine is not designed in such a way that it can be used at the jail, and because the machine had been installed in his home,” said the minister.
The Criminal Court earlier sentenced former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor to twenty years in jail after he pleaded guilty to seven charges raised against him over the MMPRC graft. The seven charges raised against Adeeb by the state are two charges of being an accomplice to embezzlement, two charges of misuse of official capacity to obtain undue advantages, two charges of money laundering and one charge of abuse of power. Adeeb cooperated with the state in the investigation of the case, and entered a plea deal with the state under which the lightest sentences for the crimes would be handed to him. His sentence would have been harsher in the absence of a plea deal.
