May 03, 2017 - 8:27 AM
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Maldives police said Wednesday they have arrested two suspects in the murder of a prominent blogger and human rights advocate.
Yameen Rasheed died last week after being found with multiple stab wounds in a house in the capital, Male.
Police said in a statement that they are confident that the investigation into the case "can be concluded successfully in the coming days."
Rasheed had criticized politicians and rising radical Islamic views in Maldives. He also spoke out on issues such as health, migrant workers' rights and policing. He was actively involved in seeking justice for his friend and journalist Ahmed Rilwan, who remains unaccounted for since being abducted about three years ago.
Rasheed's family said last week that he had received death threats for months from local gangs who appeared to hold radical religious views.
Maldives is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state where practicing other faiths and atheism are banned.
There has been rising radicalism in recent years. President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's government has also curbed freedom of speech and assembly, with heavy fines imposed on journalists and social media users who are found guilty of defamation.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party called last week for an investigation with foreign assistance into Rasheed's death, saying the country's police do not have the capacity or impartiality to conduct a full and fair investigation. It said Rasheed had recently filed a case against police over their inaction in determining Rilwan's fate.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017