Maldives Police Service on Tuesday summoned the convicted former president, Mohamed Nasheed, and leader of Jumhoory Party, Qasim Ibrahim, for fleeing the country after their jail verdicts.
Nasheed, who is sentenced to 13 years under terrorism charges, and Qasim, to three years under bribery charges, both sought political asylum abroad after the Maldivian government allowed them to travel out of the country for medical treatment. Nasheed is currently residing in the UK while Qasim is in Germany.
Hence, the police issued the official chit summoning them, via tweets in which both fugitives were tagged.
The police ordered Nasheed to present himself at Police Headquarters by 10:00 a.m. next Monday, while Qasim is to be present at 2:00 p.m.
According to the chits, the duo are being summoned for refusing to return to the Maldives after their medical leaves expired, and thus fleeing their prison sentences. Police said they would take their statements to investigate the issue.
Nasheed received his jail verdict over the arbitrary detention of a judge during his presidency, while Qasim was convicted of bribing parliamentarians.
Despite living abroad, the two have been actively involved in activities of the joint opposition. Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced Nasheed as its sole presidential candidate for the elections slated for this September. The former president won the party's primary, held on May 29, while he was in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile Qasim also hosts meetings of Jumhoory Party in Germany, and has been communicating with his party's leadership and supporters via Skype.
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