Mohamed Nasheed Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Mohamed Nasheed was born on May 17, 1967, in Male, Maldives. He attended the Majeedivva School and continued his education at the Colombo International school in Sri Lanka. In 1982, he moved to England where he began attending the Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire. Nasheed was an exceptional student. After finishing his secondary education, Nasheed moved to Liverpool where he attended maritime studies in Liverpool Polytechnic and graduated in 1989. 

In 1991, Nasheed was imprisoned for an article in the Sangu Maga In 1991, Nasheed was imprisoned for an article in the Sangu magazine, where he alleged the rigging of the 1989 General election. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience. After being released from prison, Nasheed stated that he was tortured. In 1992, he was sentenced to three years in prison for withholding information about a bombing plot. In 1996, Nasheed was again imprisoned for an article concerning the 1993 and 1994 Maldivian elections. During the rule of president Gayoom, Nasheed was imprisoned more than 20 times. During his time in jail, Nasheed spent time studying and wrote three books on Maldivian history.

Zine, where he alleged the rigging of the 1989 General election. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience. After being released from prison, Nasheed stated that he was tortured. In 1992, he was sentenced to three years in prison for withholding information about a bombing plot. In 1996, Nasheed was again imprisoned for an article concerning the 1993 and 1994 Maldivian elections. During the rule of president Gayoom, Nasheed was imprisoned more than 20 times. During his time in jail, Nasheed spent time studying and wrote three books on Maldivian history.

Political Career 

In 1999, Mohamed Nasheed began serving as a Member of Parliament from Male. He had to leave the office after theft charges. In 2003, Nasheed publicly requested that a doctor would examine a 19-year-old prisoner’s Hassan Evan Naseem’s body. He had died during his prison stay and turned out that he was tortured to death. This sparked anti-government riots, leading to the 2003 Maldives civil unrest. The protests finally led to the first State of Emergency in Maldivian history. 

At the end of 2003, Nasheed left the Maldives to Sri Lanka and then to the UK. He and Mohamed Latheef established the Maldivian Democratic Party. In 2004, United Kingdom recognized Nasheed as a political refugee. In 2005, he returned to Male and began promoting his party. Tin 2005, the MDP was recognized as an official party and Nasheed accelerated his campaigns. On August the same year, he was again arrested for public marking of the anniversary of the Black Friday. His arrest provoked civil unrest in parts of the Maldives. Although it was officially stated that Nasheed was detained for his safety, he was later charged with terrorism. 

Presidency 

Mohamed Nasheed ran for the presidential election in 2008 and the second round of elections won with a 54.25% of the vote. Nasheed was sworn into office on November 11, 2008. In 2009, he pledged to make the Maldives carbon-neutral with moving to wind and solar power. He founded the Climate Vulnerable Forum for the countries which are disproportionately affected by climate change. 

In 2010, 12 of Nasheed’s cabinet ministers resigned, protesting the behavior of the opposition ministers. The ministers called upon Nasheed to investigate why the MP’s were blocking government’s work and alleged them of corruption and bribery. Later that year, 5 out of 12 MP’s were accepted back into the parliament. 

Not long after, Nasheed’s cabinet members began to resign in protest of lack of transparency and lack of respect for the constitution. Protests began to occur in various cities. One of such protests occurred on December 23, 2011, in the capital. The protest lasted for 22 days, and in the end, the Maldives National Defense Force had a standoff with the police, who had joined the protestors. That day, Nasheed resigned as the president and vice president Mohammed Waheed Hassan was sworn into office. 

Post-Presidency 

After his resignation, Mohamed Nasheed asked that the Commonwealth of Nations treat the Maldives with expulsion unless new elections are held. In 2013, it was reported that Nasheed had taken refuge in the Indian High Commission office in Male after the Maldivian court issued a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested on the charges of abuse of office but was granted a release the same day. In 2015, Nasheed arrested again for his decision to arrest Abdulla Mohamed in 2012. He was sentenced to thirteen years in prison, and charged under Anti-Terrorism Act of Maldives. 
Amnesty International condemned his conviction and announced that the trial was biased from the very beginning. At the beginning of 2016, Nasheed was granted the permission to go to U.K. for spinal surgery. During this time, with the help from lawyer Amal Clooney, he managed to draw attention to the shortcomings of the democratic system in the Maldives.