[JURIST] The Maldives Parliament (People’s Majilis) [official website] unanimously passed a declaration [press release] Thursday to remove Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor [official profile] from his position as vice president due to accusations that he has been planning to kill President Yameen Abdul Gayoom [official website]. The Maldivian Democratic Party abstained from the vote. The vice president was linked [Maldives Independent report] to the September explosion of Yameen’s speedboat that left the president unharmed but the first lady injured and hospitalized. Yameen declared a state of emergency due to national security threats posed by plots of more explosions, which Parliament also approved [press release] Thursday.

Adeeb is the second vice president to be impeached in the Maldives in the past four months. Ex-vice president Mohamed Jameel was impeached [JURIST report] by parliament in July for neglecting his duties. He was believed to have been closely associated with jailed ex-president Mohamed Nasheed [official website], who was imprisoned for ordering the arrest of a top judge while serving as president. The Maldives government has created significant controversy over the last three years, following Nasheed’s resignation in 2012. In March 2015 the legislative body of Maldives, the People’s Majlis, amended [JURIST report] the Prison and Parole Act to remove an inmate’s right to membership in a political party. In March 2013 Maldives police authorities arrested Nasheed [JURIST report] for missing a court appearance over charges that he illegally detained a judge prior to his resignation. In February 2015 Nasheed was arrested again, this time for alleged violations [JURIST report] of the country’s anti-terrorism law. The next month the Criminal Court of Maldives sentenced Nasheed to 13 years in prison [JURIST report] for terrorism-related charges. Nasheed’s trial garnered international attention from civil rights advocates. Immediately following the trial UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein condemned the trial proceedings for violations of due process [JURIST report].