Mohamed Nasheed: Maldives ex-president in critical condition after bomb blast - BBC News

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed is in a critical condition following a bomb attack.

Mr Nasheed was elected in 2008 but ousted in a coup four years later.

Mr Nasheed, 53, has been an outspoken critic of hardline Islamists.

President Ibrahim Solih described the explosion outside Mr Nasheed's home on Thursday night as "an attack on Maldives' democracy and economy".

While no-one has claimed carrying out the attack, police said all evidence indicated that it was a "deliberate act of terror".

Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed said 450 officers had been deployed to investigate.

Two experts from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) will arrive in the Maldives on Saturday.

The hospital treating the former president said he was in a critical condition in intensive care on Friday after surgery to his head, chest, abdomen and limbs.

Supporters of Mr Nasheed have gathered outside the hospital where he is being treated.

From outside, the Maldives is a dream tourist destination with turquoise water and sandy beaches.

The Maldivian security agencies say dozens of jihadists from the Maldives went to Syria to fight on behalf of the Islamic State group and other extremist organisations.

Mr Nasheed is not only a pro-democracy icon, but also someone who doesn't hesitate to criticise religious radicals.

But the attack on Mr Nasheed is a clear reminder of the challenges the Maldivian authorities face.

Mohamed Nasheed is a leading political figure in the Maldives.

The Maldives is a largely Sunni Muslim nation made up of 1,192 individual islands south-west of the Indian sub-continent.