Ex- Maldives President Nasheed sees no chance of fair trial over power abuse allegations

London - Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has said that he did not expect a fair trail over accusations that he abused his power by ordering the arrest of a senior judge during his tenure.

"The judiciary in the Maldives is so deeply politicised, there is no chance of a fair trial, particularly in a case as political as this," Nasheed said.

The case centres around Nasheed's decision in January this year to send the military to arrest the head of the country's criminal court Abdullah Mohamed on charges of corruption, misconduct and favouring then-opposition figures.

Nasheed justified the arrest saying that the judicial service commission had failed to take action against the judge, who had a string of allegations against him.

A conviction could see Nasheed handed a jail term of up to three years in prison or banishment to an small islet, a move that would disqualify him from running for office, the Telegraph reports.

According to the paper, Nasheed also said that he had failed during his three and a half years in office to reform the judiciary, which he said still owed its allegiance to Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who remains a powerful political player.

"It was still made up of the same old judges hand-picked by Gayoom many years ago. The judges were grossly under qualified - many had only completed primary schooling," the Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

"Many had criminal records, many were corrupt and nearly all remain loyal to Gayoom. These same judges are still, for the most part, in place today and there is precious little we could do to change that situation," he added.