Nasheed brought to Malé for MRI scan

Former President Mohamed Nasheed underwent an MRI scan for an old spinal injury at the ADK hospital at 9am on Saturday.

The jailed opposition leader’s family and lawyers had filed repeated requests for the scan, and have said they worry for his safety.

He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on a terrorism charge. In June, he was transferred to house arrest amidst talks on political reconciliation. He was returned to jail in August, despite lawyers saying the government had commuted his sentence to house arrest.

Nasheed was brought to the hospital under a heavy guard.

He has requested an opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on his imprisonment. A decision will be made public in early October.

The home ministry had stalled the MRI scan claiming Nasheed was refusing to take a daily swim prior to the scan, as recommended by the doctor.

The government had authorized his transfer to house arrest in June claiming it was based on the doctor’s recommendation for a stress-free environment.

The home ministry, speaking to the press after Nasheed’s re-imprisonment, said the doctor had recommended Nasheed be kept under house arrest, but said it was not obliged to comply with all of the doctor’s recommendations.

World leaders have urged President Abdulla Yameen to free Nasheed.