A Maldives court has sentenced the leader of the Islamist opposition to 12 years in jail, convicting him on terrorism charges that stemmed from a speech he had made to protest the imprisonment of the islands' first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed.
British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged on Saturday to apply pressure on the Maldives to improve the rule of law and free political prisoners after meeting the country's former president after his temporary release from jail.
Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed landed in Britain on Thursday, his aide told AFP, after the Indian Ocean islands' government granted him prison leave for urgent surgery.
Jailed Maldivian opposition leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed left the country Monday for urgent medical treatment in Britain a delay caused by a legal dispute with the government, his party said.
