Former president Mohamed Nasheed said he had not yet decided whether to return to the Maldives at a press conference yesterday in London, where he has travelled for medical
treatment.
Flanked by his legal team including Amal Clooney, Nasheed said he would need to consult on his next move, quoting British punk band The Clash to explain his position.
“I know the question you all want to ask is will I go back. This has been more eloquently answered by The Clash in 1982 when I was doing my A-Levels—‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go?’” Nasheed, who was educated in Britain, told reporters.
But he added: “Let me be clear. I will go to the Maldives. I will definitely go to the Maldives, there is no doubt about that. But only the question is how and when.”
Nasheed, 48, arrived in London on Thursday after being granted 30 days of leave from the Maldives for spinal cord surgery in a deal brokered by Sri Lanka, India and former colonial power Britain.
He and his lawyers visited 10 Downing Street on Saturday, where Prime Minister David Cameron pledged support.
Nasheed became the first democratically-elected president of the Maldives in 2008 and served for four years before he was toppled in what he called a coup backed by the military and police.
Last year, he was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges.
Clooney, who is married to Hollywood film star George Clooney, argued for “urgent” targeted sanctions against figures in the Maldives government allegedly responsible for human rights abuses, including asset freezes in the European Union and US and
travel bans.
“Sanctions can work, especially those cases of targeted, smart sanctions,” she added.
Nasheed’s release had come about as a “direct result of the threat of sanctions”, said another one of his lawyers, Jared Genser.
Shortly before the packed press conference, the Maldives government hit out at Nasheed, accusing him of using his prison leave for publicity purposes.
“It is now clear the former president has been disingenuous at best, and misleading at worst, in seeking medical leave in the UK,” foreign minister Dunya Maumoon said in a statement.
“The government acted in good faith in allowing Mr Nasheed to travel abroad for treatment. Yet it is now clear his primary goal was to court publicity in the United Kingdom. This is not medical leave, but media leave.”
Nasheed also criticised lawyer Cherie Blair, wife of Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair, for advising the Maldives government, a decision which has drawn controversy in Britain’s media.  
“It’s very sad that she got the wrong end of the stick, read the story wrong and dropped this catch,” he said.

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