Former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that he is prepared to return to prison for his beliefs.
Speaking at the Danish Parliament as part of his ongoing visit to Denmark, Nasheed said that the election in September will not be about his career prospects, but about returning democracy to the Maldives.
"I do not fear prison. I have been jailed many times during my life. I spent 18 months in solitary confinement under the dictatorship, in a metal cage in which I couldn’t stand up or lie down. I’ve been tortured twice. And I am prepared to return to jail for my beliefs.”
Nasheed also spoke about the 15-year-old girl who was recently found guilty of fornication and sentenced to be flogged by a Maldivian court.
He said that the election will be about all those who suffer when the principles of democracy are abandoned.
“It is about the 15 year-old girl who was repeatedly raped by her step-father. Who bore her step-father’s child and had to watch her own parents murder the baby. Who was then - in a gross affront to justice and human decency - found guilty of fornication and sentenced to be flogged by a Maldivian court.”
Nasheed will also speak on climate change at the University of Copenhagen later today.