Mohamed Nasheed

Mohamed Nasheed is an activist, journalist, and politician in the Maldives. He served as the fourth President of the Maldives from 2008 until 2012, when he was forced out of office by a coup d’etat. After leaving office, he continued his pro-democracy activism. On February 22, 2015, he was arrested on politically motivated terrorism charges, and within three weeks, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. His detention was widely condemned, including by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found his detention to be arbitrary and in violation of international law. In January 2016, Nasheed was allowed to travel to the UK for medical treatment; he was granted asylum there later that year. In November 2018, the Supreme Court of the Maldives overturned his conviction and he returned to the country. He served in the People’s Majlis from May 2019 to May 2024; for most of this time, he also served as Speaker of the People’s Majlis.