Leader of the 1988 coup Abdulla Luthufee will be returned to Maldives upon the approval of the Sri Lankan defence ministry, says home minister Imran Abdulla.

Minister Imran said this during his questioning in parliament over the delay in returning Luthufee, who is currently at the Maldivian embassy in Colombo.

Minister Imran said that they have received approval to extradite Luthufee from most Sri Lankan authorities, except the defence ministry.

Luthufee fled his life sentence during a medical trip abroad in 2010 and turned himself in at the embassy on May 1. The Minister stated that they had been unable to extradite Luthufee at the time due to the heightened security after the Easter bombings.

The attempted coup in capital city Male’ on November 3, 1988, by a Sri Lankan militant group led to the death of 19 Maldivians. Due to Luthufee’s involvement, he was initially sentenced to death, which was reduced to life imprisonment by President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.