A Maldivian court overturned the 19-month jail term of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on Thursday, a month after the former president’s estranged half-brother and jailer suffered a shock election drubbing.
Gayoom, 80, ruled the largely Muslim island nation for 30 straight years until he was defeated at the country’s first multi-party elections in 2008.
He was arrested in February and accused of participating in an alleged coup during a crackdown on rivals of President Abdulla Yameen, in charges his family and observers said were politically-motivated. Gayoom was granted bail at the end of September, a week after Yameen lost national elections.