Former Maldives president returns from exile after strongman’s election defeat
- Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2015 after being convicted of terrorism for ordering the arrest of a top judge in 2012
- His trial was criticised internationally for lack of due process
The first democratically elected president of the Maldives returned home on Thursday after more than two years in exile to escape a long prison term.
The plane carrying Mohamed Nasheed from Sri Lanka landed in Maldives’ capital, Male, where he was welcomed by his party members and supporters. He planned to address his supporters later on Thursday.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2015 after being convicted of terrorism for ordering the arrest of a top judge in 2012 while he was president.
His trial was criticised internationally for lack of due process, along with those of many other political opponents jailed by strongman President Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
He was offered asylum in Britain when he travelled there for medical treatment on leave from prison.
Nasheed’s return follows Yameen’s defeat in the September 23 presidential election by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the candidate of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party.
