Maldives opposition leader charged with inciting violence

MALE (Reuters) - Maldives' prosecutor general charged an opposition leader on Tuesday with inciting violence, a month after he was arrested during protests against the imprisonment of the islands' first democratically elected president. Sheikh Imran Abdulla, who heads the small but influential Islamic Adhaalath Party, was read his charges and told he would be held in detention until the end of his trial, a reporter permitted into the courtroom told Reuters. Imran was among close to 200 people including the leaders of the main opposition parties detained in the capital city Male on May 1 after protesters demanding the release of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed clashed with police. Nasheed has been in prison since his March conviction for illegally ordering the arrest of a judge in 2012. His jailing triggered condemnation from the United Nations and United States that the trial was unfair and politically motivated. The Maldives government, led by President Abdulla Yameen since he beat Nasheed in a controversial election in 2013, has said the trial was conducted fairly. A spokesman for Imran's party said the charges against him were "politically motivated" and that he had called for the protests to remain lawful. Imran was rearrested on Monday after being released on May 27 almost four weeks after his initial arrest, police said. The court hearings of two other opposition politicians, both of whom were detained in May, were postponed on Tuesday given that the two men are not currently in the country. The Maldives, a collection of tropical islands popular with wealthy honeymooners, is struggling to embed democracy after Nasheed's election in 2008 ended 30 years of authoritarian rule. (Reporting by Daniel Bosley; Writing by Tommy Wilkes in NEW DELHI; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)