The government has given permission for jailed opposition lawmaker Ahmed Mahloof to seek medical care from neighbouring India.
Maldives correctional service on Sunday confirmed that Mahloof has been given the green light to travel to India last month for period of 10 days from the date of departure.
It is unclear when Mahloof who is serving 10 months and 24 days over two separate counts of impeding police officers would travel.
The independent MP for South Galolhu who is also the spokesperson for the newly formed opposition alliance, Maldives United Opposition (MOU) was first sentenced to four months and 24 days in prison after the criminal court found him guilty of of obstructing police officers during an opposition protest in April.
A week later he received a further six months for pushing police barricades and entering a restricted area during a protest in March last year.
His family jointly with his lawyer and local rights group Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) had filed a case was at the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) which was slated to review the case last month.
His family has continuously alleged that Mahloof was being ill treated in prison and warned of his deteriorating health.
The government had allowed former president Mohamed Nasheed who is serving 13 years in prison for the arbitrary arrest and subsequent detention of a sitting judge while he was president to leave to Britain for medical treatment in an internationally brokered deal in January.
However, Nasheed refused to return after the 30 day period and has since been granted political asylum by the UK government.
