New Delhi ( CNN ) -- Police in the Maldives arrested the Indian Ocean nation 's former president Mohamed Nasheed on Monday after he did n't show up for a trial over accusations against him of abuse of power . His arrest is the latest twist in the political turmoil this year that has shaken the Maldives , a popular tourist destination consisting of hundreds of coral islands south of India . Read more : The Maldives - Trouble in paradise . The authorities took Nasheed into custody at around 9:45 a.m. local time while he was campaigning on a remote island of the archipelago for upcoming presidential elections , according to police and the former president 's Maldivian Democratic Party ( MDP ) . `` We believe Nasheed 's arrest is politically motivated , aimed solely at preventing him from campaigning ahead of the presidential elections , '' Ahmed Naseem , who served as foreign minister under Nasheed , said in a statement on the party 's website . Nasheed , the predominantly Muslim nation 's first democratically elected president , resigned in February amid a police revolt prompted by his arrest of a top criminal court judge . Read more : Maldives tense after day of street violence . The former president and his supporters say he was forced from office at gunpoint in a coup orchestrated by his political opponents . But his successor and former vice president , Mohammed Waheed Hassan , insists the transfer of power was legitimate . The Maldives Police Service say the trial at the Hulhumale Court relates to Nasheed 's arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed earlier this year . The court issued the arrest warrant Sunday to ensure Nasheed attends the next hearing of the case , police said . Read more : Maldives ' deposed president faces arrest as wife flees to Sri Lanka . Nasheed said last week that he had n't received a court summons requiring him to attend the next hearing . He said he had written to the court to request that the hearing be rescheduled until after his planned return to the capital , Male , on Oct. 13 . But the authorities were unwilling to wait and arrested Nasheed on the southern island of Fares-Maathoda on Monday . Photos made available by the MDP showed him surrounded by more than a dozen police officers wearing helmets and body armor . Naseem , the former foreign minister , accused the police of using `` disproportionate force '' to arrest Nasheed . `` They landed on this tiny island dressed in full SWAT gear and carrying weapons , '' he said . `` They behaved aggressively , and sometimes violently , towards Nasheed 's supporters . '' Read more : Former Maldives president beaten , his party says . Nasheed and the MDP have questioned the legitimacy of the trial , saying that judges in the Maldives had been upset by the party 's campaign for judicial reform . `` It is impossible for any MDP Member , let alone President Nasheed to get a fair trial here , '' Hamid Abdul Ghafoor , a party spokesman , said last month . Nasheed is already familiar with the Maldives ' courts and prisons . Prior to becoming president , he was arrested as a journalist several times and held as a political prisoner . Read more : Maldives president resigns after police revolt . He was a fierce critic of the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom , who ruled the Maldives for 30 years before Nasheed defeated him in elections in 2008 . Nasheed accused Gayoom of running the country with an iron fist , crushing dissent , amassing wealth and stacking his administration with friends and relatives . But Gayoom is still considered a hero by many in Maldives who credit him for transforming a fishing culture into a tourist nation . CNN 's Harmeet Shah Singh reported from New Delhi , and Jethro Mullen from Hong Kong .
A court has issued an arrest warrant for ex-president Mohamed Nasheed . Police arrest him while he campaigns for upcoming elections . Nasheed and his supporters say he was forced from power in a coup in February . Comment: