Mohamed Nasheed, who stepped down as the president of the Maldives last year and took refuge at the Indian High Commission here, hit the world headlines four years ago when he held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming and the threat to his atoll nation.
Nasheed and his ministers were in full scuba gear as they met for about 30 minutes at a depth of six metres just north of the capital Male in 2009.
The Maldives is made up of 26 atolls and a cluster of 1,192 islands, some of them barely inches above the sea level.
Nasheed took sanctuary at the Indian High Commission here on Tuesday after a court issued an arrest order for his failing to attend a hearing in the illegal detention of a judge.
‘Mindful of my own security and stability in the Indian Ocean, I have taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Maldives,’ tweeted Nasheed, now the Maldivian opposition leader who was the first democratically elected president in the history of his country.
He was elected president 28 October, 2008, defeating incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives from 1978-2008.
Nasheed graduated from Liverpool University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies.
In 1990, he helped establish Sangu, a political magazine that scrutinised the ruling political class. The government banned Sangu within a year of its first publication and Nasheed was arrested and jailed.
In 2003, Nasheed fled the Maldives. A year later, on Nov 10, 2004, he co-founded the country’s first opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile in Sri Lanka.
After spending 18 months in self-imposed exile, Nasheed returned to the Maldives on 30 April, 2005, to establish the MDP in the Maldives, defying a government edict banning political parties.
DOWNFALL OF ISLAND PRESIDENT
16 JAN, 2012: A row erupts over arrest of the chief justice, who ordered the release of a government critic.
7 FEB, 2012: President Nasheed announces his resignation after a mutiny by the police and weeks of demonstrations over the arrest of the chief justice. Later, he claims being forced out in a coup. Vice-president Mohamed Waheed Hussain Manik is sworn-in as the president.
JULY, 2012: Nasheed is formally charged with illegally ordering the arrest of the chief justice, whose detention sparked protests in February. The move comes as Nasheed's supporters demonstrate and demand early elections.
AUGUST, 2012: Commonwealth-backed investigation team dismisses claims that a coup forced Nasheed to step down as the president in February. The report says Nasheed resigned voluntarily.
8 OCT, 2012: Nasheed is arrested for ignoring a court summons and travel ban.Nasheed denies the charge of illegally arresting the chief justice, says it is politically motivated. A conviction could disqualify him from contesting future presidential polls. According to the Guardian, supporters said police in full riot gear pepper sprayed Nasheed and dragged him from a house after he ignored summons. Police in the Maldives arrested Nasheed after he twice failed to appear before a court to face charges that he illegally ordered the arrest of the judge while in office.
13 FEB, 2013: Nasheed, who once held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming, takes refuge at the Indian High Commission in Male after a Maldivian court issues an arrest warrant against him over his failure to attend a hearing in the illegal detention of a judge.
Nasheed and his ministers were in full scuba gear as they met for about 30 minutes at a depth of six metres just north of the capital Male in 2009.
The Maldives is made up of 26 atolls and a cluster of 1,192 islands, some of them barely inches above the sea level.
Nasheed took sanctuary at the Indian High Commission here on Tuesday after a court issued an arrest order for his failing to attend a hearing in the illegal detention of a judge.
‘Mindful of my own security and stability in the Indian Ocean, I have taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Maldives,’ tweeted Nasheed, now the Maldivian opposition leader who was the first democratically elected president in the history of his country.
He was elected president 28 October, 2008, defeating incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives from 1978-2008.
Nasheed graduated from Liverpool University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies.
In 1990, he helped establish Sangu, a political magazine that scrutinised the ruling political class. The government banned Sangu within a year of its first publication and Nasheed was arrested and jailed.
In 2003, Nasheed fled the Maldives. A year later, on Nov 10, 2004, he co-founded the country’s first opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile in Sri Lanka.
After spending 18 months in self-imposed exile, Nasheed returned to the Maldives on 30 April, 2005, to establish the MDP in the Maldives, defying a government edict banning political parties.
DOWNFALL OF ISLAND PRESIDENT
16 JAN, 2012: A row erupts over arrest of the chief justice, who ordered the release of a government critic.
7 FEB, 2012: President Nasheed announces his resignation after a mutiny by the police and weeks of demonstrations over the arrest of the chief justice. Later, he claims being forced out in a coup. Vice-president Mohamed Waheed Hussain Manik is sworn-in as the president.
JULY, 2012: Nasheed is formally charged with illegally ordering the arrest of the chief justice, whose detention sparked protests in February. The move comes as Nasheed's supporters demonstrate and demand early elections.
AUGUST, 2012: Commonwealth-backed investigation team dismisses claims that a coup forced Nasheed to step down as the president in February. The report says Nasheed resigned voluntarily.
8 OCT, 2012: Nasheed is arrested for ignoring a court summons and travel ban.Nasheed denies the charge of illegally arresting the chief justice, says it is politically motivated. A conviction could disqualify him from contesting future presidential polls. According to the Guardian, supporters said police in full riot gear pepper sprayed Nasheed and dragged him from a house after he ignored summons. Police in the Maldives arrested Nasheed after he twice failed to appear before a court to face charges that he illegally ordered the arrest of the judge while in office.
13 FEB, 2013: Nasheed, who once held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming, takes refuge at the Indian High Commission in Male after a Maldivian court issues an arrest warrant against him over his failure to attend a hearing in the illegal detention of a judge.