By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MALÉ, Maldives – On Monday, Maldives’ ex-president, Mohamed Nasheed, did not attend his court hearing in Malé.  Mr. Nasheed faces charges of abuse of power for unlawfully ordering for the arrest of Maldives’ chief criminal court judge, Abdullah Mohamed.

Last week, the Hulhumale Magistrate Court directed the ex-president to appear before it Monday but also, to not leave Malé without its permission.

In addition to his failure to appear in court, Mr. Nasheed did not seek the court’s approval when he left the capital to participate in election campaigning.

According to Associated Press, Mr. Nasheed, who served as Maldives’ first democratically elected president, believes that he was “forced from office in a coup d’etat.”

“The coup has not yet been completed,” Mr. Nasheed informed the AFP news agency after his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a protest in Malé last Friday to criticize the charges against him.

Furthermore, according to BBC, the ex-president denies the charges against him and believes that the trial is politically driven.  To Mr. Nasheed, the court’s purpose in restricting his travels was to prevent him from campaigning in the upcoming elections.

“Once they started to set up a fabricated court, bring in judges who are not judges of that court, and the whole structure of it is so… politically motivated, it is very obvious it is not meant to serve justice,” Mr. Nasheed shared.

In any event, if Mr. Nasheed is convicted, he may face up to three years in jail or banishment to a remote islet in the archipelago.  Furthermore, it may bar him from disputing future presidential polls.

“People will not allow the regime to steal the next election. A free and fair election is our over-arching goal,” said Mr. Nasheed.

After he either resigned or was forcibly moved by the Maldives police, Mr. Nasheed’s deputy, Mohamed Waheed, replaced him as president.

According to the Associated Press, the new president’s spokesman, Abbas Riza, denied Mr. Nasheed’s allegations against the court and said that the court order was “the usual practice, according to the country’s law.”

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera – Maldives ex-president to face trial – 01 October 2012

Associated Press – Maldives’ ex-president fails to show in court – 01 October 2012

BBC – Maldives ex- President Mohamed Nasheed defies court – 01 October 2012

Boston News – Maldives court orders police to bring ex-president – 01 October 2012