Britain has granted political refugee status to the former president of the Maldives, who was jailed in 2015 after a trial that drew widespread international criticism for being part of a slide to authoritarianism in the country .



His lawyer disclosed that Mohammed Nasheed had sought political asylum, and this was confirmed by UK diplomatic sources. Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected president, was allowed to go to Britain in January for treatment on his back, after President Abdulla Yameen came under international pressure to let him leave.

Shortly after arriving in the UK in December, Nasheed met David Cameron in Downing Street to raise concerns about the deteriorating situation in the Maldives. Cameron was strongly supportive after the meeting where Nasheed was accompanied by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, wife of the Hollywood actor George Clooney. She has been representing Nasheed legally in the UK.

The Madives government said on Monday they were disappointed that the UK government had agreed to “be part of this charade”, adding British ministers were helping with efforts to circumvent the law. Nasheed was jailed for 13 years on terrorism charges after illegally ordering the arrest of a judge in a trial that put a spotlight on instability in the Indian Ocean archipelago, a destination for super-rich holidaymakers.

Since his release from jail, on the grounds of ill-health, Nasheed has called for sanctions against Yameen and his allies for detaining political prisoners, mainly opposition leaders, and for alleged human rights abuses in the Maldives. On Monday, Nasheed issued a statement accusing Yameen of jailing all opposition leaders and cracking down “on anyone who dares to oppose or criticise him”.

Responding to news that he had been granted asylum, the Maldives government said “Nasheed was granted medical leave exceptionally by the appropriate authorities in the Maldives after which he is expected to return to serve the remainder of his sentence. Nasheed’s legal team had claimed he only wanted to go to the UK because the medical treatment he needed was only available in the UK.

“This latest development clearly demonstrates that the intention was to seek to avoid serving his prison sentence, and thus again, the former president has once again exhibited a distinct lack of commitment to the legal process and continues to manipulate the process for political gain, believing that he remains above the law”.

In a statement confirming his exile, Nasheed said: “In the past year, freedom of the press, expression and assembly have all been lost. Given the slide towards authoritarianism in the Maldives myself and other opposition politicians feel we have no choice but to work from exile – for now.”

After Nasheed was forced from power, the United Nations, the US and human rights groups have said Yameen’s government failed to follow due process and that the case was politically motivated. Yameen, increasingly close diplomatically to China, has proposed all-party talks to resolve the political crisis but opposition parties insist their jailed leaders must first be released.

Yameen has faced international criticism over the detention of 18 journalists after they said a proposed defamation bill was aimed at suppressing freedom of expression. It has also used the threat of jihadi terrorism to arrest many of its critics.