Maldives puts top dissident on trial for terrorism

MALE, Friday (AFP) - The main opposition leader in the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, went on trial accused of "terrorism" for inciting unrest, and could face life in prison if convicted, officials and his supporters said.

A Maldivian government official contacted by telephone said the trial opened in the capital island Male after Nasheed pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing in August.

Nasheed, who heads the dissident Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), ended his self-imposed exile in London and returned home in June after President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom allowed political parties to function in the Indian ocean archipelago.

However, he was arrested in August on charges of inciting unrest.

"We can't expect a fair trial in the Maldives," MDP's Colombo-based spokesman Mohamed Latheef told AFP. He said calls by Nasheed's lawyer for more time to prepare his defence were turned down.

The International Commission of Jurists had asked for a fair trial for Nasheed and that his lawyer be granted more time to meet Nasheed and prepare for the trial.

Earlier this month, another MDP activist, Jennifer Latheef, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on a similar "terrorism" charge for inciting people to protest against Gayoom, who has ruled the country of 300,000 people since 1978.

Mass protests took place in Male in August to mark the first anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising against Gayoom. The government said 130 people were arrested but most were later freed.