Court suspends arrest warrant for Maldives ex-leader Nasheed

COLOMBO: The Maldives top court suspended an arrest warrant for Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday, paving the way for the country’s first democratically elected president to return from exile next month. The Supreme Court ruled Nasheed could not be detained by police or prison authorities until his appeal against his controversial 13 year jail sentence for terrorism is heard. Nasheed was branded a fugitive from justice when he went into exile in 2016 after seeking medical treatment abroad. He risked arrest if he ever returned to the Maldives under President Abdulla Yameen, who jailed or exiled most of his opponents.