Ex-Maldives prez Nasheed detained

Police in the Maldives detained opposition leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday, defying pressure from regional power India which had called for him to be free to campaign for elections.

Police in the Maldives detained opposition leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday, defying pressure from regional power India which had called for him to be free to campaign for elections.

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Twenty masked policemen in riot gear arrested Nasheed at his family home in capital Male and one of his security men was hurt in the melee, Shauna Aminath, a spokeswoman for Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party, said.

Police served no arrest warrant on the leader, who was the first freely elected president until last year, she said.

Authorities said Nasheed, 45, was taken into custody on a court order and would appear in magistrates’ court on Wednesday to face abuse of power charges.

“He is not under arrest, but he has been taken into custody on a court order issued after he repeatedly evaded summonses,” presidential spokesman Masood Imad said.

The abuse of power accusation stems from Nasheed ordering the arrest of a judge while president on misconduct charges.