Nasheed to fly from Lanka for medical care in London

Nasheed was supposed to leave on Sunday after a deal brokered by diplomats from India and Sri Lanka as well as Britain, but his departure was delayed as the government imposed new conditions on his trip. The government was insisting that he nominate a family member to stay in the capital Male to guarantee his return. Nasheed initially refused the government request to leave a family member behind who had to sign as a guarantor for his return, but finally agreed to the offer. 

According to Maldivian government, Nasheed had signed an undertaking to return after his treatment and his brother has agreed to act as guarantor. Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected leader, was sentenced to 13 years in jail in March over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. 

Nasheed resigned as the Maldives leader in February 2012 after weeks of protests over the judges arrest on corruption allegations. The former president had appealed his prison sentence after backtracking on his earlier decision and opted to go to the Supreme Court instead. In his appeal, Nasheed had sought a lesser penalty under the new penal code that came into effect in November.