Maldives jails ex-defence minister for 11 years

COLOMBO: The Maldives’ former defence minister has been found guilty of attempting a coup and jailed for 11 years, his family and officials said, weeks after the conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed sparked international concern.
The controversial criminal court found Mohamed Nazim guilty of smuggling dangerous weapons into the upmarket tourist destination with the aim of toppling President Abdulla Yameen.
Nazim’s family said he had not received a fair trial following the verdict, which came out overnight Thursday and is likely to intensify fears of growing political repression in the honeymoon island nation.
The verdict came less than two weeks after the court convicted opposition leader Nasheed under anti-terror laws for ordering the arrest of a chief judge in 2012 when he was president and sentenced him to 13 years in jail.
“This is a verdict that neither us nor any Maldivian accepts,” Nazim’s family said in a statement that was copied to diplomats in Colombo.
“We ask your for help in getting justice.”
President Yameen sacked Nazim in January shortly after police raided his flat in the capital Male and seized documents as well as a pistol and ammunition.
He was also accused of engineering a fire at the main desalination plant serving the island capital Male that triggered a water crisis in December.
Nazim, a retired colonel from the Maldivian National Defence Force, was minister of defence and national security.