Former President Abdulla Yameen is doing well and in good spirit, the opposition coalition has said.
On Wednesday, the leaders of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People’s National Congress (PNC) alliance visited the former president, who is currently in Maafushi Prison serving an 11-year sentence.
Those who visited Yameen include the leader of the PPM-PNC coalition and the President of PNC Abdul Raheem Abdullah, Madduvari MP Adam Shareef, Guraidhoo MP Qassan Maumoon, Faresmaathodaa MP Hussain Mohamed Latheef and Malé City Mayor Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
After the meeting, Abdul Raheem said that Yameen is doing "incredibly well" and that the opposition leader will not be submitting to autocracy.
"[Yameen said] He will not bow down to tyranny; that he will prove his innocence," Abdul Raheem quoted Yameen saying.
He said that Yameen urged the opposition coalition to not allow his supporters to lose spirit and to remain hopeful.
Last December, Yameen was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the MMPRC corruption scandal. He was found guilty of accepting USD 1 million as bribes for the lease of Vaavu atoll Aarah from former Felidhoo MP Yusuf Naeem and laundering the said money.
As long as the conviction remains in force, the opposition leader will lose his chance to contest in the presidential election to be held on September 9. The opposition coalition has claimed that an election held without Yameen would not be valid.
The PPM-PNC coalition plans to hold a "President Yameen 2023" conference from February 2–4 in an effort to free the former president before the election.
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