Maldives Ex-president's Trial was Flawed: U.N. Rights Chief

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights said on Wednesday the jailing of former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed for 13 years last week followed a trial marked by "flagrant irregularities. In a statement, High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the sentence handed down by the criminal court in the Maldivian capital last Friday, was part of "a rushed process" that prevented Nasheed's defense from calling witnesses. Nasheed, ousted in 2012 in what his supporters say was a coup, was found guilty of terrorism for ordering the arrest earlier that year of a judge, in a case that raised fears of further political instability in the Indian Ocean state.