COLOMBO: A lawyer for the Maldives’ jailed former president was stabbed in the islands’ capital ahead of a visit by his international legal team, including leading human rights activist Amal Clooney, his party said Saturday.

Lawyer Mahfooz Saeed underwent emergency surgery and was in a stable condition following the attack Friday evening in Male, ex-leader Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said. “There were many people who saw the incident.

The attackers were also caught on CCTV cameras,” Shauna Aminath, a spokeswoman for the MDP, of which Saeed is also a member, told AFP. The party believes the attack was politically motivated, she said.

Amnesty International condemned the assault and called on the Maldivian government to bring the perpetrators to justice.