Maldives defends decision to arrest ex-president

The Maldivian government has defended its decision to detain former President Mohamed Nasheed, who is accused of ordering the illegal arrest of a senior judge in 2012, when he was in office.

“Everything is (happening) according to the law,” Ibrahim Muaz Ali, a spokesman for incumbent President Abdulla Yameen, told AFP by telephone on Tuesday.

The government’s measure to arrest the former president has been criticized by the US and regional power India.

“This is an internal matter for the Maldives. We are an independent country since 1965,” Ali added.

Nasheed, who currently heads the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, was taken into custody on Sunday.

On Monday, police used force to drag him into a court (as seen in the picture below), which refused to grant bail to him and ordered his detention until after a trial.

Lawyers for the 47-year-old Nasheed, the Indian Ocean archipelago’s first democratically-elected president, say his charges are politically motivated.

Hundreds took to the streets on Sunday to protest the government’s decision to arrest the former leader.

The arrest of Nasheed is believed to be closely related to his decision in 2012 to detain the criminal court chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed for alleged corruption.

Nasheed, who had to resign amid an army mutiny and public protests over Mohamed’s arrest, lost the country’s 2013 presidential election to Yameen.

MSM/HJL/HMV

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk