They face prison terms of 10 to 15 years if convicted.The list of prisoners ordered to be released included Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first president elected in free balloting. Had he been cleared he could have become a potent rival to Yameen, who is seeking re-election later this year. Gayoom had campaigned for Yameen in 2013 but is now an opposition leader allied with Nasheed, a democracy activist he repeatedly jailed. He lost the presidential election to Yameen in 2013 and was jailed two years later.Under Yameeen the Maldives has lost much of its earlier political gains and freedoms. A vice president, a defense minister, judges and a number of lawmakers have been jailed.

Source: Economic Times March 22, 2018 09:13 UTC