Supporters Embrace Former Maldives President on His Release From Jail

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former president of the Maldives, was greeted by family, friends and supporters on his release from prison in Male on September 30. Gayoom had been in power from 1978 to 2008, when he was defeated in an election. He was arrested in February for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into suspected attempts to topple the government. The sitting president and Gayoom’s half-brother, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, lost an election on September 23. Since his election defeat, a number of Yameen’s political opponents have been released from prison. This footage was taken by Twitter user @Badruddeen, who told Storyful that a little child could be heard shouting “welcome grandpa," at the start of this video, which shows Gayoom arriving at his wife’s home in Male. Gayoom’s son Ahmed Faris Maumoon was also released on September 30, and can be seen in this video at about the eight-second mark. Credit: @Badruddeen via Storyful

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