Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, who once held a cabinet meeting under water to highlight global warming, took refuge at the Indian High Commission in Male on Tuesday after a court issued an arrest order for his failing to attend a hearing in the illegal detention of a judge.

"Mindful of my own security and stability in the Indian Ocean, I have taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Maldives," tweeted Maldivian opposition leader Nasheed, 45.