DPA
Colombo


The government of the Maldives brushed off international pressure yesterday over the detention of opposition leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed, saying the country would not be influenced by external forces.
Maldives Foreign Minister Dhunya Maumoon told a news conference in Male that some countries and organisations were issuing “biased statements” in relation to Nasheed’s arrest and her government would not pay attention to them.
“Countries cannot provide advice to us on what the government should be doing,” Maumoon said.
Her statement was in response to comments from the Commonwealth, India, Britain and the United States on Nasheed’s arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over an order when he was president in 2012 to detain the criminal court’s chief judge, Abdulla Mohamed.
The judge was facing a series of allegations including disregarding orders by other courts and purposely delaying cases.
Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma expressed concern on Monday that Nasheed had not been given access to legal representation when he appeared in court.
The court has ruled that Nasheed, who fell and injured himself when he was dragged into court by security officials, should be held in remand custody until the trial against him is concluded.
The Maldives government has also charged current Defence Minister Moosa Ali Jaleel and his predecessor Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu of involvement in the order to detain the judge.
Ali Waheed, a leader of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), claimed that Nasheed was arrested on the orders of President Abdulla Yameen to secure a parliamentary majority by uniting the opposition parties. There are currently no elections on the horizon.
In last year’s elections, the Progressive Party of Maldives, led by the president’s half-brother Mohamed Gayoom, and its allies secured 53 seats in parliament.
The MDP, with just 26 members of parliament, had the support of the Jumhooree Party with 15 seats, but it needed the support of other smaller parties in order to
secure a majority.
Nasheed, 47, became the Maldives’ first democratically elected president in 2008, but stepped down in 2012 after weeks of political turmoil following the arrest of the judge. Riots also followed Nasheed’s dismissal.
In 2013, Nasheed again stood for president, but was defeated by Yameen.
In a related development, Britain has alerted its nationals travelling to the Maldives to take security precautions and avoid gatherings in the capital Male.

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