New Maldives crisis: Nasheed takes shelter in Indian mission

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday sought refuge in the Indian high commission in Male, where he went immediately after an arrest warrant was issued against him by a Maldivian court. “He has sought refuge in the mission”, official sources said in New Delhi. After this, top Indian officials, including the national security adviser and the foreign secretary, began a series of meetings on the brewing diplomatic crisis. Mr Nasheed also tweeted: “Mindful of my own security and stability in the Indian Ocean, I have taken refuge at the Indian high commission in Maldives.” Indian officials said the former President sought a meeting with high commissioner D.M. Mulay, who flew back to the Maldives from New Delhi early on Wednesday. They did not spell out when the meeting was sought. “Nasheed has also moved for a stay against the arrest warrant,” official sources said. The warrant was issued against Mr Nasheed by a court after he didn’t turn up for a previously scheduled hearing at a magistrates’ court on February 10 in a case on the detention of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012. The riot police, meanwhile, has surrounded the Indian mission and barricades have been set up around the high commission. But Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed’s official spokesperson Imad Massod said the forces will not enter the Indian diplomatic mission. “Nasheed was summoned to the court on Sunday but he did not go. The court last night issued an order to the police to bring him to court under arrest. Currently he is in the Indian high commission. The police is waiting for him to come out. They will not enter the high commission premises,” the President’s spokesperson said.