Maldives ex-president declines Commonwealth probe

Former Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed has called on the Commonwealth not to conduct an investigation into his trial and sentencing, local media reported on Friday.

Hassan Latheef, a prominent member of the legal team, told reporters an investigative delegation from the Commonwealth has arrived in the Maldives in order to probe and prepare a report on the terrorism charges against Nasheed. The delegation had called on Nasheed on Wednesday.

Latheef added that the delegation's primary task is to collect information about the case, prepare a report and submit it to the Commonwealth's Secretary General.

Nasheed had expressed his wish to not have such an investigation conducted, Latheef added. "The delegation had said that Nasheed believes it unnecessary for any more reports in order to understand how the Maldivian judiciary works,"Latheef said."Nasheed believes that the Commonwealth has a sound understanding of the local courts already. "

Nasheed was jailed for 13 years after a Maldivian court found him guilty over terrorism allegations for having arrested and detained controversial Criminal Court judge Ahmed Mohamed during his tenure. On Feb. 22, the police apprehended Nasheed at his home. He was sentenced on March 13. The case had drawn considerable international attention.

On March 20, the United Nations'Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul released a statement stating that the hastened nature of the trial against Nasheed leads to the conclusion that the Criminal Court's sentence was pre-determined. "The speed of the proceedings combined with the lack of fairness in the procedures lead me to believe the outcome of the trial may have been pre-determined," the statement said.

However, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has insisted the trial was independent and had called on the international community not to interfere in the country's internal matters. Endi