The Maldives Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a 13-year jail sentence given to exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed, Reuters reported. Nasheed said he will return to the country on November 1.
The top court ordered the government and law enforcement agencies to comply with its decision until it reviews the charges of terrorism against Nasheed, AP reported.
The announcement follows the election of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party as president. Solih will be sworn in on November 17.
Nasheed has been in exile for more than two years. Outgoing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom had jailed many of his political opponents during his tenure.
The island nation has been embroiled in political unrest since Nasheed, who became its first democratically elected leader in 2008, was forced to quit amid a mutiny by police in 2012.
Nasheed was booked under anti-terrorism laws in 2015 and sent to prison for 13 years after Yameen came to power. A number of countries had then said these were politically motivated charges. A year later, the United Kingdom granted Nasheed asylum when he was allowed to travel there for medical treatment. Since then, he has lived in the UK and Sri Lanka.
Nasheed was among the political prisoners whom the Supreme Court ordered to be released in February. But Yameen’s government defied the order and declared a state of emergency that continued for 45 days. Soon after Yameen declared emergency, security forces stormed the Supreme Court in a midnight crackdown and arrested two judges, including the chief justice.
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