After three years in office, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed resigns.<br/> <br />In a statement on Tuesday, Nasheed said he was handing over power to his vice president.<br/> <br />He said he refused to use force to quiet growing protests and a police mutiny led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago for 30 years.<br/> <br />Nasheed came to power in 2008 and is credited with bringing true democracy to the tropical tourist destination.<br/> <br />But he was unable to squash protests after ordering a top criminal court judge arrested for being in the pocket of Gayoom ahead of presidential elections next year.<br/> <br />Opposition leaders, who are using hardline Islamist rhetoric to win support, have also accused Nasheed of being anti-Islam.<br/> <br />Nasheed, who has a long-standing rivalry with Gayoom, was jailed for 6 years and arrested 27 times by Gayoom's government for his pro-democracy activism.<br/> <br />Jessica Gray, Reuters
