Ex-president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed refuses to nominate kin as ‘surety’ for foreign treatment

NEW DELHI: Mohamed Nasheed, the jailed ex-president of Maldives, has refused to travel to Britain for a spinal surgery after the Abdullah Yameen government demanded that he nominate a relative as ‘surety’ to ensure his return to Male.

After foreign secretary S Jaishankar visited Male last week and Sri Lankan pressure, Yameen had allowed his predecessor to travel to UK for surgery. However, within a day he added a rider that Nasheed should nominate a relative to take his place to ensure his return, Nasheed’s aides said over phone from Male. This condition of keeping a hostage was “outrageous” and “unacceptable,” they said. Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail term on terrorism charges but was scheduled to fly out on Sunday night for the surgery.

Authorities on Monday prevented Nasheed from meeting his lawyers. For months he had sought permission to go abroad for the surgery, but the Yameen government had repeatedly denied the request insisting that the microdiscectomy surgery could be done in Maldives. But on Saturday, the foreign ministry tweeted that the government had granted permission for Nasheed to travel to UK to undergo surgery, at his request.

There has been international pressure on the Yameen government last week to release Nasheed, who is seen as apolitical prisoner. Jaishankar visited Maldives last Monday and Yameen had briefed him on the political developments in Maldives. This was followed by visits last Wednesday by Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera and finance minister Ravi Karunanayake. A British minister also met Yameen to discuss the internal developments in the nation. Nasheed’s lawyers claim that the former President sustained back injuries when he was jailed under Gayoom’s regime and health problems worsened when Yameen’s police sent him to trial last year. The international criticism and the UN panel ruling last September on Nasheed were, however, rejected by the government.