Family: Colonel Nazim will return on Thursday

Convicted former Defense Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim’s family has said that he will cut short his medical treatment and return back to the country on Thursday.

Nazim’s family issued a press statement on Tuesday, in which they said that state’s inability to provide adequate medical care necessitating him to travel abroad for medical care at great expense, and having to cut short his medical treatment and return back to the country within such a short period of time – threatening to forcefully drag him back to the country if he did not – was not acceptable.

The family’s statement comes after Maldives Correctional Service ordered Nazim to return back to Maldives within the next 48 hours, on Monday.

Commissioner of Prisons, Mohamed Husham said during press conference held on Monday that MCS would start direct efforts to bring Nazim back to the country, if he did not return within 48 hours.

Nazim’s family said in their statement that state had been unable to provide medical care that fell anywhere near adequate in prison. And that he was granted permission to travel abroad for medical treatment that was not available in the country after repeated requests.

They said that MCS had ordered Nazim to return within 48 hours’ despite him having submitted medical document by his Malaysian doctor requesting more time to complete his treatment.

Nazim’s family said that they were concerned that repeated requests for extension, along with medical documents had been overlooked.

Nazim was sent to prison after a pistol was discovered in a police raid on his apartment, while he had been serving as defense minister.