The Maldivian government on Thursday said it had dropped terrorism charges against one of the top contenders in the archipelago's first-ever multi-party presidential elections, due by early next month. The charges against Mohamed Nasheed, one of the longest-standing opposition critics of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, were criticised by rights groups as politically motivated when they were instituted more than three years ago.
"We have requested withdrawal from the courts and to drop the charges," Hussein Shameem, deputy director at the attorney general's office, said. "There doesn't seem to be enough evidence to convict for those charges."