Maldives opposition: ex-president charged under outdated law

Male - Maldives opposition complained that former president Mohamed Nasheed is charged under an outdated law and legal action against him is politically motivated.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said that Nasheed is charged under an "archaic and incomplete" Penal Code that predates the democratic transition in 2008.

"We are deeply concerned the prosecutor general is proceeding with the trial that will neither be fair nor lawful. President Nasheed is charged under obsolete regulation that does not tally with the new democratic constitution and this trial is politically motivated," stated Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, MDP spokesperson for International Affairs.

On October 8, Nasheed was arrested on a warrant after he skipped two hearings to face the trial on abuse of power by ordering the detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office.

Nasheed is charged under Article 81 of the Maldivian Penal Code titled "Public servant using authority to arrest or detain innocent persons." If found guilty Nasheed may be disqualified from contesting in the presidential election and even could be jailed or banished to a remote island for three years.

The former president claimed that he was ousted in a military backed coup on February 8. A Commonwealth-backed inquiry into the military coup rejected his claim and ruled that power transfer from Nasheed to his vice Waheed was constitutional.