Daughters gave me courage to say no government’s deals: Sheikh Imran

Adhaalath Party leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla has said that his elder children had given him the courage to say no to the deals being offered by President Abdulla Yameen’s administration.

Imran was released from incarceration last week, after the Supreme Court issued a stay order on enforcing his 12-year jail term. He was found guilty of terrorism in February 2016.

Speaking exclusively on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee programme on Saturday night, the AP leader noted that the government had offered him various deals in return for his freedom. However, he did not disclose the details of these deals.

Noting that he is not one that will let go of his beliefs to accomplish a certain agenda, Imran said that he would have faced irreversible consequences had he agreed to any of the government’s deals.

Furthermore, Sheikh Imran said that he had discussed the matter with his elder daughters, following which he told those making the offers that “it will be better to remain in prison that to accept the deals”.

“The media had somehow reported their views on the matter,” he added.

Back in July, his daughters had- via their mother’s Facebook account- said that despite wanting their father to be a free man, that “fighting and doing what he loves for his country is more important”.

Imran’s wife, Mariyam Reem had told RaajjeMV that their children had a lot more to say on the matter, but that they do not wish for their father to stop his work for the country.

Imran also credited his wife as a strength in rejecting these deals.

The AP leader also shared his experience in prison, saying that “he gained more than he lost” during the three years in incarceration.

He further expressed concern over the conditions in prison, and emphasized the importance of prison reform in the country.