Former Maldives President sentenced to 13-year imprisonment

Male, March 14: In a major development, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed was on Friday night sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court here under the anti-terrorism laws.

In a court hearing late on Friday, Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader who was arrested on February 22 over the detention of a judge in 2012, was charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1990, highly-placed sources told PTI.

"The Anti-Terrorism Act, inter alia, classifies an act of terrorism to include kidnapping, holding as hostage or apprehending someone against their will or attempts to kidnap, hold hostage or apprehend someone without their will, for the extrajudicial enforced disappearance of the sitting Chief Judge of Criminal Court," the sources said, quoting the court judgement.

47-year-old Nasheed resigned as the Maldives' leader in February 2012 after a mutiny by police and troops that followed weeks of protests over the arrest of judge Abdullah Mohamed on corruption allegations.

PTI