Maldives' jailed ex-pres Yameen freed after appeal court orders retrial

The first appellate court on Thursday freed jailed former president Abdulla Yameen and ordered a retrial of the bribery and money laundering charges linked to the biggest corruption scandal in the island nation's history. 

Yameen who was president between 2013-2018 was sentenced to 11 years in prison in late 2022 after he was convicted of two separate charges of corruption and money laundering in the leasing of Vaavu Atoll Aarah island. 

The three judge bench of the High Court freed Yameen and ordered a trial after finding several procedural faults in the Criminal Court verdict.

Yameen has been serving his sentence at home since late November after his former housing minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu won the presidential elections. Yameen who was in jail at the time had valiantly pushed the party to boycott the elections after his candidacy was rejected. But almost the entire leadership and party council backed Muizzu after he secured the presidential primary.

Barely month after Muizzu was sworn in, the pair had a major falling out and Yameen has since left the ruling PPM/PNC to form a new party. 

Despite severe limitations due to the prison sentence, Yameen has been publicly critical of the government and Muizzu, questioning the delay in his exoneration as he continued to remind his supporters of Muizzu's presidential pledge to free him. 

The High Court verdict comes two days before the country heads to the polls to elect a new parliament. It would be a huge boost for Yameen who is fielding his own candidates in the election as he attempts to regain a foothold in politcs.

This is the second time Yameen has been freed from graft convictions. 

His first conviction for corruption and money laundering in 2019 was overturned by the Supreme Court in November 2021. 

But the former president is facing more corruption charges in a third case of an illegal lease of an island which is currently being heard by the Criminal Court.