Ex-vice president transferred back to house arrest

Former vice president Ahmed Adeeb was transferred to house arrest on Tuesday night after spending more than two weeks admitted at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé.  

The Maldives Correctional Service said Adeeb was placed under house arrest with some conditions, declining to comment on the duration for house arrest.

Adeeb – who was convicted on multiple counts of corruption and terrorism and sentenced to 33 years – was previously transferred to house arrest in November after three years in prison.

The MCS authorised the transfer based on doctor’s recommendations after he underwent surgery to remove kidney stones.

He was taken back to prison in early January but was immediately rushed to the hospital in Malé for emergency medical care.

His return to prison was condemned by his Maldives Third-Way Democrat party. It was contrary to doctor’s recommendation to keep him home for two months to recover from a surgery to remove kidney stones, the MTD and Adeeb’s family contended.

In late January, the Supreme Court overruled a High Court order to transfer Adeeb from prison to house arrest.

The apex court granted a stay order halting enforcement of the High Court’s order after an appeal by the police, prisons authority and home ministry. The authorities contended the transfer order violated a Supreme Court precedent.

Adeeb was taken back to the Maafushi prison shortly after the Supreme Court order. But he was brought back to IGMH for consultations with doctors.