Maldives' criminal court on Sunday acquitted former Defense Minister Ameen Faisal of terrorism charges over the arbitrary arrest and subsequent detention of incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom by the military during former president Mohamed Nasheed's government.
President Yameen, who was a parliament member at the time, was arrested on the 14th of June 2010, after allegations were made that he was bribing other lawmakers in an attempt to overthrow Nasheed's government.
The Supreme Court nullified the arrest and ordered his release, to which the police complied. However, upon his release, he was arrested again by the military.
Ameen Faisal had denied any role in the arrest and any wrongdoing during his tenure as the Defense Minister.
The criminal court however, had acquitted Faisal saying that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence.
Ameen's predecessor Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu had also been convicted and sentenced to prison over the detention of a sitting judge by the military.
Nasheed had also been serving 13 years in prison over the judge's arrest before he was allowed to leave to Britain on medical leave in an internationally brokered deal.
