<br /> <p>Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former president of the Maldives, was greeted by family, friends and supporters on his release from prison in Male on September 30.</p><p>Gayoom had been in power from 1978 to 2008</a>, when he was defeated in an election. He was arrested in February</a> for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into suspected attempts to topple the government.</p><p>The sitting president and Gayoom’s half-brother, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, lost an election on September 23</a>. Since his election defeat, a number of Yameen’s political opponents have been released from prison.</a></p><p>This footage was taken by Twitter user @Badruddeen, who told Storyful that a little child could be heard shouting “welcome grandpa," at the start of this video, which shows Gayoom arriving at his wife’s home in Male.</p><p>Gayoom’s son Ahmed Faris Maumoon was also released</a> on September 30, and can be seen in this video at about the eight-second mark. Credit: @Badruddeen via Storyful</p><br />
