The new government should drop criminal charges against former President Mohamed Nasheed for the sake of national stability, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof has urged, according to local media.
Nasheed was facing controversial the court action ahead of his filing for candidacy in the 2013 presidential elections, which were eventually narrowly won by a coalition headed by PPM candidate Abdulla Yameen. The charges concerned his detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during the final days of his presidency in 2012, prior to his ousting by a mutinying defence force.
The charges, which Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintained were a politically-motivated attempt to prevent Nasheed contesting the election, led to international scrutiny and criticism over the politicisation of the judicary.
