Ex-Prez Nasheed's jail term commuted to house arrest: Counsel

Mohamed Nasheed's international counsel today said the former Maldivian President's 13-year jail term has been commuted to house arrest, a day after the Prosecutor General took a U-turn saying he would appeal the controversial conviction that drew international ire.
On July 19, "the government of the Maldives has permanently moved president Nasheed to house arrest for the balance of his 13-year term in prison," Nasheed's counsel Jared Genser told reporters.
He added that Nasheed had accepted the terms of the transfer and will abide by all conditions attached to the decision.
Yesterday, the Maldivian Prosecutor General Muthaz Muhsin said he would appeal Nasheed's conviction, citing rights violations and irregularities in his terror trial, whose fairness has been questioned by international governments, including India and the US, and rights organisations.

"This highly irregular move is without a precedent given that the prosecutor general is appealing a case where he won a conviction," Genser said.
"This is not just a u-turn by the government, it is bizarre," Genser said, adding that he had been denied a visa to enter Maldives to visit his client Nasheed which forced him to travel to Colombo.

The Prosecutor General's decision comes amidst rumours that President Abdulla Yameen will pardon the opposition leader ahead of July 26, the day Maldives marks 50 years of independence from the British, Minivan News reported.
Last month, Nasheed had appealed to President Abdulla Yameen to reduce his sentence under Maldives' anti-terrorism laws.

48-year-old Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader who was arrested on February 22 over the detention of a judge in 2012, was charged under the Anti- Terrorism Act 1990 in a criminal court hearing in March.
Immediately after the sentencing, Nasheed has been incarcerated in a prison on a remote island.
His conviction drew widespread criticism over the apparent lack of due process in the 19-day trial.
The former president was ousted in February, 2011 by a mutiny of security forces. He said he was forced to resign as a result of a coup.