Male, Maldives - A court in the Maldives postponed a trial of the country's first elected president on Monday after he defied a summons and left the capital despite a travel ban imposed on him.
A court official said the case would not be heard as scheduled because Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted in February, was not present for his trial on charges of abuse of power during his time in office.
“Since the accused is not present in court, the hearing has been cancelled,” the court official said in a statement read out to a handful of lawyers and reporters in court.
Nasheed, who was asked to appear before a three-judge bench in Male, was seen leaving the capital Male in a boat heading to the country's south where he said he would attend political rallies.
The court official did not give a date for the next hearing.
Nasheed, 45, said at the weekend that he did not expect a fair hearing in a case that could see him jailed or banished to a remote island and barred from future elections.
“I don't think the charges are correct,” Nasheed told reporters at a jetty as he joined members of his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The court case centres on Nasheed's decision to send the military to arrest a senior judge in January, which fuelled already simmering anti-government protests and culminated in a police mutiny in February and his downfall.
Nasheed justified the arrest saying that the judicial service commission had failed to take action against the judge, who had a string of allegations against him.
Last week, a court ordered the former political activist and pro-democracy campaigner to remain in the one-square mile (2.6
square kilometres) capital island Male until the case against him is concluded.
Witnesses said there was no attempt to stop Nasheed as he defied the court order and left the capital with a large number of MDP supporters.
“The judiciary in the Maldives is so deeply politicised, there is no chance of a fair trial, particularly in a case as political as this,” Nasheed said ahead of Moday's trial opening.
He became leader after the Maldives held their first democratic elections in 2008 following three decades of autocratic rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The country is made up of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator and is better known as a honeymoon hotspot rather than a hotbed of political activism.
A conviction could see Nasheed handed a jail term of up to three years in prison or banishment to an small islet, which would disqualify him from running for office.
Criminals in the Maldives were often banished to remote islets in the past and forced to fend for themselves. Nowadays they are more frequently sent to the notorious Maafushi prison on a small islet south of Male.
Apart from the criminal case, Nasheed also faces two defamation suits filed against him by Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz and by Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim.
A judge indefinitely postponed the first case on Sunday at the request of Riyaz, while the second case is due to be called on Tuesday.
New President Mohamed Waheed has rejected claims that Nasheed was forced into resigning - an internationally-backed probe also rejected the idea of a “coup” - and rebuffs suggestions the legal cases are a political vendetta.
“The government of Maldives refutes any allegations that this trial is politically motivated,” presidential spokesman Abbas Riza said.
“On the contrary, the former president has been found in breach of the powers vested in his office of the presidency on several occasions.” - Sapa-AFP
IOLSA
Some people just derive pleasure in being sturbbon and strong-headed.This is a living example