Mohamed Nasheed taken into custody in Malé for alleged illegal detention of a judge when he was in power

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Police in the Maldives have arrested former president Mohamed Nasheed under an anti-terror law for the alleged illegal detention of a judge when he was in power.

Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, was taken into custody on Sunday in the capital island of Malé, police said.

He came to power in 2008 and stepped down four years later following a mutiny by the police and military.

An arrest warrant against Nasheed, seen by AFP, described him as a flight risk.

Last week, the state prosecutor dropped charges of abuse of power against Nasheed for allegedly ordering the arrest of the then criminal court chief judge, Abdullah Mohamed, in January 2012.

However, Nasheed was charged again on Sunday under tougher anti-terrorism laws with the same allegation – ordering the arrest and detention of Abdullah Mohamed, who had been accused of corruption.

In February 2013, Nasheed took refuge at the Indian high commission in Malé to avoid being arrested in connection with the same case.

He lost the November 2013 presidential election to Yaamin Abdul Gayoom, the half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had ruled the Indian Ocean atoll nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims for three decades.