Political Updates

Former president Mohamed Nasheed has refused to travel abroad for medical treatment after "sacrificing" a member of his family, his lawyers said Sunday.

 

Former president Mohamed Nasheed has refused to travel abroad for medical treatment after "sacrificing" a member of his family, his lawyers said Sunday.

The deadlock came after the government ordered a declaration be signed by the family before allowing jailed former President Nasheed to seek medical treatment abroad.

Nasheed had sought permission to go abroad for a surgery on his back, but Correctional Service had repeatedly denied the request insisting that the microdiscectomy surgery could be done in the Maldives.

However, in an apparent U-turn, foreign ministry announced on twitter Saturday the government had granted permission to Nasheed to travel to UK to undergo surgery, at his request. He was expected to leave to the UK Sunday evening.

The ex-president's lawyers told reporters that Nasheed would not travel abroad on Sunday over the declaration.

According to lawyer Hisaan Hussain, the declaration prompts a member of Nasheed's family to take liability for him while abroad.

"The declaration prevents the family member who signs the document from travelling out of Male without prior consent of the Maldives Correctional Service," she said.

Hisaan pointed out that the constitution does not allow authorities to hold a person criminally responsible for an offence committed by another.

Lawyers said they were still trying to negotiate with the government to resolve the issue with the declaration and expressed hope that the ex-president would be sent to the UK as soon as possible.

Prisons chief Mohamed Husham had told Haveeru that the declaration was part of the routine procedure followed in sending inmates abroad for medical treatment. The temporary travel document required for Nasheed’s trip to the UK has already been arranged and he would be allowed to depart as soon as the family signed the declaration, he said.

“Someone from the family and and an official [from the correctional service] have to sign the declaration. This procedure was followed in sending [former defence minister] Mohamed Nazim and [former parliamentarian] Ahmed Nazim abroad for treatment,” Husham said.

“We’ve been negotiating with the family since this afternoon.”

Nasheed was granted 30 days for his surgery.

Meanwhile, home minister Umar Naseer insisted Saturday that the surgery could be done in Maldives, but stressed that the government was forced to grant the permission after a legal opinion by the attorney general. Attorney general Mohamed Anil had advised the government that former presidents are afforded privileges and that they can be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad even if the procedure is available from local hospitals, he added.

Government’s U-turn on Nasheed came in the wake of visits by the Indian foreign secretary and two senior Sri Lankan ministers which also coincides with a visit by the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of UK Hugo Swire who arrived earlier Sunday.

Indian foreign secretary Jaishankar arrived in Maldives Monday afternoon on a one-day official visit as a special envoy of the Indian prime minister. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom briefed Jaishankar on the political developments in the Maldives and secured the regional superpower's backing in domestic and international affairs.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera and finance minister Ravi Karunanayake arrived in Maldives Wednesday evening on an official visit.

The government has come under pressure as Maldives' international partners’ calls for Nasheed’s release echoed louder after a UN panel ruled that Nasheed's detention was arbitrary.

The international criticism and the UN panel ruling in September were, however, rejected by the government.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March for ordering the arbitrary detention of chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency.

The former president had filed for appeal his prison sentence after backtracking on his decision to not appeal his sentence by opting to go to the Supreme Court instead.

In his appeal, Nasheed had sought a lesser penalty under the new penal code that came into effect in November. The Supreme Court had also been asked to nullify the charges lodged against him in the lower court and the subsequent sentence.