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    February 09, 2012

Maldives Issues Arrest Warrant for Former Leader

   VOA News
   Ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed (C) arrives with his
   supporters for the Maldivian Democratic Party's meeting in Male
   February 8, 2012. Photo: Reuters
   Ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed (C) arrives with his
   supporters for the Maldivian Democratic Party's meeting in Male
   February 8, 2012.

   In the Maldives, a criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for
   former president Mohamed Nasheed who stepped down from office earlier
   this week.
   An official from Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party says the court
   gave the order to arrest Nasheed and his former defense minister, but
   that the charges against them remain unclear.
   On Wednesday, clashes between police and Nasheed supporters spread
   throughout the capital Male to several outlying islands.
   Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president, resigned
   Tuesday after numerous calls by protesters and mutinous police officers
   for him to step down.
   He later described it as a coup attempt and accused new President
   Mohammed Waheed Hassan, his former second-in-command, of being
   involved.
   Hassan denied the allegations.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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