The chief prosecutor Aishath Bisham has agreed to meet the opposition, spokesperson and lawmaker Ahmed Mahloof claimed Monday.
Several top opposition officials had gone down to the prosecutor general's (PG) office seeking an audience with the chief prosecutor, but she had been too busy to meet with the opposition contingent on Monday, the south-Galolhu MP said.
"But she has agreed to give us a time [for the meeting] in the next two days," Mahloof said.
Opposition has lambasted Bisham, questioning her independence over an alleged leaked audio of the defence minister's meeting with the special protection group (SPG) of the army.
The meeting was reportedly held after the chaos in parliament on Monday as opposition lawmakers surrounded the speaker's table to block the sitting.
The authenticity of the 36 minute audio could not be verified as the defence minister was unavailable for comment.
In the audio, the minister assures the soldiers that the authorities would pursue criminal charges against the opposition lawmakers saying that he had urged the police chief and the home minister to expedite the process.
The minister also assured that he obtains legal advise from both the president's legal advisor Azima Shakoor and prosecutor general Aishath Bisham before issuing any orders.
Responding to the minister's comments, top opposition lawmaker Mariya Ahmed Didi said the defence minister must not be allowed to seek advise from the PG.
"The PG must be independent. So if the government is seeking advise from the PG before conducting criminal investigations, the independence of the prosecutor must be questioned. So if the audio is indeed authentic, the PG along with the AG [attorney general] are ganging up to persecute opposition figures," the north-Machchangoalhi MP lamented.
Opposition lawyer Hisaan Hussain insisted that ministers cannot seek legal advise from the PG under any circumstances.
"PG cannot give legal advise to a minister. A minister can seek legal advise from the AG. The PG's mandate is to advise and instruct investigating authorities on criminal offences. The PG under no circumstances can intervene in dictating government policy or aid the crackdown of opposition figures," Hisaan stressed.
The PG has so far been tight-lipped over the opposition criticism.
