Ex-pres Yameen being held in 'appalling' conditions: Jameel

Lead counsel on former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom's legal team, Dr. Mohamed Jameel has stated that the condition of the jail in which President Yameen is being held at is dire.

Yameen was sentenced to five years in jail, and ordered to pay US$ 5 million to the state after he was found guilty of money laundering charges.

In a tweet posted on Friday, Dr. Jameel said he visited President Yameen in jail and expressed concern that the former president was being ill-treated in the jail.

"As lead counsel, I visited President Yameen in prison today. I’m deeply concerned about his treatment in jail; conditions are appalling and fail to meet international standards. This is torture. I call on authorities to release him to house arrest," wrote Jameel.

President Yameen's legal team said the cell in which Yameen is being held is not fit for a former president of the country, and revealed that they will be officially requesting Home Minister Imran Abdulla and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to transfer President Yameen to house arrest until the end of the appeal process.

Former President Yameen was accused of defying the agreement between himself and the Anti-Corruption Commission, which stipulated the former president to move funds in his Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) account that are suspected of having been laundered, into an escrow account set up between the two parties. Failing to do so, and moving the funds in question into an investment account, the former president deposited funds from another source into the escrow account. Criminal Court on Thursday found Yameen guilty of money laundering and sentenced him to five years in jail, ordering him to pay the state an amount of US$ 5 million within six months. He is currently being held at Male' Prison.