The Nobel Peace Prize recipient fought apartheid for decades before becoming the first democratically-elected president of South Africa.

CNN: Quest for peace

Another former Haitian leader - the first democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide - has said he is also ready to return home from exile.

BBC: 'Baby Doc' Duvalier sued for torture in Haiti

Mr Nasheed, a pro-democracy campaigner, became the first democratically elected president of the Indian Ocean archipelago in 2008.

BBC: Ex-Maldives president Nasheed leaves Indian mission