Nasheed leaves the country

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has left the country today, after being barred from leaving last Friday when the Immigration Department informed him that his passport had been withheld.

An official of Nasheed’s Office said that he has departed this morning on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight. The official did not say Nasheed’s destination or the reason for his travel and said that the information will be revealed later.

Nasheed went to the airport with his family last Friday with hopes to depart. Hulhumale’ court had said that they had issued an order allowing Nasheed to leave the country. Immigration however, had said that Nasheed’s passport came up on the system as withheld and that it was due to a “technical error”. Nasheed’s office had said that it was an act of insolence.

MDP spokesperson Machchangoalhi North MP Mariya Ahmed Didi has said earlier that Nasheed will leave only when the Immigration Department notifies him that he has been approved to leave. She had also said that Nasheed wanted to leave the country because his father was scheduled to be operated that day and Nasheed wanted see him before he was taken into surgery.