Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed's wife Laila Ali seeks India's help

NEW DELHI: The wife of jailed Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying India needs to step in to get her husband out of prison and that she fears that plans are afoot to murder the former President in custody.
Speaking with ET, Laila Ali said that India's steps till now condemning the current state of affairs in Maldives are welcome but more has to be done to free her husband, who has been sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges that include terrorism.
Ali, who spoke on the matter with the international media for the first time, called the trail that led to her husband's imprisonment a "total sham" and said that Nasheed is looking at India to "intervene to restore the democratic rule of law". "I do not know what it will take PM Modi to do it but my wish is that India helps in ensuring that my husband is freed unconditionally and that representative democracy is restored. How India does it is for the PM to decide," she said in a telephonic interview from Male.
She also expressed fears that a plot may be afoot to murder her husband in custody and make it appear like a suicide. "I fear for his life in prison. This week I got some information from close friends that people in the cabinet as well as some retired and serving armed forces personnel are plotting to kill him in jail and make it look like he committed suicide," Ali said, adding that she has shot off letters sharing this fear with several leaders in Maldives.