"May spend rest of life in jail", says Maldives ex-president Nasheed

A criminal court in the Maldives has issued an arrest warrant for former president Mohamed Nasheed, officials from his party said today. The report comes a day after Nasheed was among dozens manhandled and injured in police action on protesters in Male.

The ousted president of the Indian Ocean archipelago was at his house awaiting arrest, according to reports from Male. About 200 supporters stood under umbrellas in the pouring rain outside as Nasheed spoke to reporters.

Some reports including BBC put the number of supporters outside his house in the thousands.

Nasheed, the country's first elected president after 30 years of autocratic rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, resigned on Tuesday amid protests over economic austerity measures introduced under rule. He says he was forced to resign ''at gunpoint'' by police and army officials in a coup.

It is unclear what the charges against the former president might be.

Senior officials in Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) say there is also a warrant for the arrest of his former defence minister, Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu.