Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim’s lawyers will on Sunday appeal the Criminal Court’s jail sentence against him.
Lawyer Hussein Shaheem said that his colleagues are working to file the appeal after the weekend.
The opposition leader was sentenced to 3 years, 2 months, and 12 days in prison over bribery allegations. Qasim was sentenced in absentia, given how he had been hospitalized while the Criminal Court passed the sentence.
The charges were put forth under Section 510 of the Penal Code – on 'bribery and official misconduct' – claiming that he had attempted to influence the authority of a public official.
Said charges stipulate that he had attempted to bribe parliamentarians ahead of a parliamentary vote against speaker Abdulla Maseeh on March 27th.
The verdict implies that the mere statement of such a promise, whether it is fulfilled or not, is grounds of sanctions.
He was prosecuted for having said he would aid potential candidates that run for future elections by acquiring them party tickets and providing campaign benefits in a speech at Kunooz, his party’s headquarters, ahead of a no-confidence motion.
The prosecution said that he had attempted to bribe parliamentarians into supporting the motion to oust Maseeh.
