Government has refused to allow jailed opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim to leave abroad for medical treatment despite criminal court ordering authorities to lift the travel ban on the business tycoon late Thursday.
Gasim late Thursday became the latest opposition leader to be jailed after the business tycoon was convicted and sentenced to three years and two months in prison on bribery charges.
Gasim had collapsed inside the court room during an earlier hearing on Thursday as authorities have refused to allow the lawmaker to leave abroad for medical treatment.
The court had sentenced Gasim in absentia as his lawyers had also refused to attend the hearing and even make the closing argument.
Gasim had been convicted after the court found him guilty of attempting to bribe fellow lawmakers to back the opposition led censure motion to unseat parliament speaker Abdulla Maseeh in March this year.
The Maamigili lawmaker remains hospitalized in the state run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) despite doctors recommending the resort tycoon to be rushed abroad immediately.
In the sentence, the Judge presiding over the case had ordered the authorities to allow Gasim to leave abroad citing doctors' recommendations.
Gasim's lawyers meanwhile, have insisted that the sentence would be appealed.
