Maldives former vice-president deported after govt rejects his asylum request

Former vice president of Maldives, Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor, who was detained here after entering India without valid documents, has been deported to his country, port authorities said on Saturday.

This comes after Centre rejected his request for political asylum.

Ahmed was detained after he reached the shores of Thoothukudi illegally on a barge named 'Virgo 9' on Thursday.

External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had earlier said that Adeeb was not permitted entry into India as he was not entering the country through a designated entry point and did not possess valid documents.

Ahmed, 37, served as the Vice President of Maldives in 2015. However, he was removed from the post after he rebelled against erstwhile president Abdulla Yameen.

According to Maldivian media reports, Ahmed was freed from house arrest two weeks ago after he had served a 15-day contempt of court sentence. The sentence was completed after he returned to the Maldives from medical leave in India in early July.

Earlier, he had also served a three year prison term on terrorism and corruption charges. The appeal courts later wiped out Adeeb's 33-year jail sentence on terrorism and corruption charges, citing political influence over his trials. However, the Supreme Court imposed a travel ban on Ahmed in late June. His passport was also withheld.

-ANI