Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who ruled the country as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir in 1978. He was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election. In opposition, he continued to serve as leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party until January 2010, when he retired from active politics.
However, in September 2011, he returned to Maldivian politics as the leader of the newly formed Progressive Party of Maldives , whose candidate Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Maumoon's half-brother, was victorious in the 2013 presidential elections. In July 2016, due to disagreements between president Yameen and Maumoon, the party split into two factions. Later in October 27, Maumoon withdrew his support for president Yameen and joined the Maldives United Opposition.Gayoom was arrested on 5 February 2018, for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government along his son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem. Maumoon's son, Faris Maumoon, was arrested and released, then arrested again a day after his release. Maldivian Democracy Network reported Maumoon and Farish were being tortured by not being allowed medical treatment.Gayoom was freed on bail on 30 September 2018. Wikipedia
“Freedom of expression is guaranteed by our constitution.”
BBC World interview (2003)
When asked by al jazeera journalist, Juliana Ruhfus (in an interview on 8 August 2007) that there is a law (in Maldives) that women are not allowed to wear a dress that only shows the eyes.
2007
