Maldives former president arrested
| Male, Maldives
Police in the tropical Indian Ocean resort archipelago of the Maldives听arrested former President听听on Tuesday, 10 days after he left the听听where he had taken refuge to avoid detention.
A court had ordered police to arrest Nasheed after he missed a Feb. 10 court appearance in a case relating to accusations that he illegally detained a judge during the last days of his rule.
"We have received a court order to arrest him and produce to the court," Maldives听spokesman听听told Reuters. "...We have him in police custody. He will be produced in court tomorrow."
Nasheed, the Maldives'听first democratically elected leader, left office last year in contested circumstances. He entered the听, or embassy, on Feb. 13 and left 10 days later on the understanding that he would be able to conduct "peaceful political activity".
His supporters say he was ousted last February in a coup in the Maldives, a major tourist destination. They have clashed with police outside the diplomatic mission.
Soon after Nasheed's arrest, minor scuffles broke out in Male.
Supporters of the detained president threw the brother of the current president,, off his motorcycle and attacked a parked military vehicle.
Some gathered outside the former president's home and blocked nearby roads.
The听听in nearby听听called for calm in the Maldives听and said Nasheed "must be accorded due process under the law regarding his pending court cases".
If Nasheed is found guilty in the case, he could be barred from standing in a presidential election on Sept. 7.
Nasheed's听听denounced his detention as politically motivated, carried out by "numerous armed and masked police officers who did not...produce an arrest warrant or court summons."
The party says any trial is part of efforts to exclude him from the contest and has challenged the court's legitimacy.
A spokesman for President Waheed said no deal had been struck with the听听in connection with the former president's decision to leave the high commission.
"There is no deal between us and the judiciary on Nasheed's judgement," said spokesman听. "It is totally up to the judiciary. We will have no interference with court."
Nasheed says he was forced from power at gunpoint after opposition protests and a police mutiny. A national commission last August said the toppling of his government was not a coup, but a transfer of power that followed the constitution, a ruling that triggered several days of demonstrations.
The Maldives听held its first free elections in 2008. Nasheed defeated听, who had ruled for 30 years and was accused by opponents and international human rights groups of running the country as a dictator.
(Writing by Shihar Aneez in COLOMBO; Editing by Ron Popeski)
