Nasheed's Stay at Hotel Jen Funded by Govt: Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, the current Speaker of the Majlis, has said that his ongoing stay at Hotel Jen is being paid for by the government.

Speaker Nasheed stated this during a press conference that was held in the Majlis building in response to a question posed by a journalist in attendance. He answered that his stay at Hotel Jen had been arranged and handled by the government.

He said that he wished to move into the special lodging that was being prepared for him by the State. He said that he was staying at Hotel Jen until those lodgings were ready.

He also said that he also desired to move back to his own home, but that the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) did not permit him to do so. The MNDF wish to keep the existing arrangements unchanged.

On being asked whether he was satisfied with the security measures being provided for his safety, he responded that the people who were concerned about those security measures were his two daughters. He said that he spoke with his daughters about the security measures, and that they compared the strict protocols to those practiced by the security detail surrounding North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

He said that his daughters wished for him to be safe, even if it required such security measures.