Murder sparked international outrage

Maldives police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two potential suspects in the killing of a liberal blogger last month that sparked international outrage and demands for a foreign-backed investigation.

Yameen Rasheed, 29, who poked fun at the nation’s politicians on his blog The Daily Panic, had his throat slit at the stairwell of his apartment in the capital island Male on April 23.

“The Maldives police service would like to inform the public that two potential suspects involved in the murder of Mr. Yameen Rasheed have been identified and brought into police custody,” the force said in a statement.

Officers were working with undisclosed international partners and laboratories in Europe and South East Asia to analyse physical and digital evidence, the statement added.

No faith in police: father

The victim’s father, Hussain Rasheed, 54, told reporters in neighbouring Sri Lanka last week that he had no confidence in the police investigation and pleaded for an international probe.

“I heard about 18 people have been killed in the Maldives like this in the past three years, but no one has been prosecuted,” he said on Friday.

He said his son had lodged complaints with the police about death threats he had received in December, but they were not taken seriously.