Mohammed Nasheed, sentenced to 13 years in jail under anti-terrorism laws, on Sunday suffered another blow when the former Maldivian President’s appeal against his arrest order was dismissed by the hi
Mohammed Nasheed, sentenced to 13 years in jail under anti-terrorism laws, on Sunday suffered another blow when the former Maldivian President’s appeal against his arrest order was dismissed by the high court here.
The court threw out Mr Nasheed’s appeal against his February 22 arrest as he refused to enter the courtroom for the first hearing of his appeal case in protest because his request to hold the hearing in public was rejected.
Meanwhile, the Maldives government Sunday told its critics to respect a controversial decision to jail the honeymoon islands’ first-ever democratically-elected President for 13 years amid a growing global backlash over the verdict. Mr Nasheed, 47, had appealed the arrest order issued by the criminal court against him. He was arrested and ordered to be detained until the end of his terror trial by the court, stating that he had a history of “evading courts.” Before the hearing was scheduled to be held on Sunday, Mr Nasheed’s legal team requested to hold an open and public hearing.
However, only members of Mr Nasheed’s legal team and family were allowed inside the courtroom. Nasheed then refused to enter the courtroom since the court had ignored his requests of an open hearing, Maldivian media reported. The court also noted that they hold the authority to carry out a closed hearing, even if the legal team requests for an open one.
