The Criminal Court has given Aduham Ahmed Rasheed, the prime suspect in the attack against the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, a 23-year jail sentence after he struck a plea deal with the State.
Aduham had detonated the IED strapped to a motorcycle parked outside the Speaker's residence in Male' and police had released footage of the defendant waiting for the Speaker in a nearby building and leaving shortly after detonating the device.
Aduham had been formerly accused of four charges.
These include carrying out an act of terrorism, conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attempted murder using a sharp object or dangerous weapon, and supporting a terrorist organization.
While his trial was held behind closed doors, the defendant struck a plea deal with the State through which he had received a 23-year jail sentence instead of the 37-year jail sentence he would have received for all four charges.
Although he had been given a 23-year sentence, he would be serving 22 years, 4 months and 21 days after time served had been cut from his sentence.
In court today, Aduham had apologized for his actions and had said that he targeted Speaker Nasheed because of religious beliefs. Aduham also said that he would not repeat such an action and that he gave his word on it.
