Prosecutors and investigators involved in Dhiggaru constituency MP Ahmed Faris Maumoon’s conviction on identity fraud charges had been influenced, says the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The opposition party said in a statement on Wednesday following the Criminal Court conviction of the lawmaker, that the allegations against him were unfair and unsubstantial.

MDP said that Faris’ arrest and trial is part of President Abdulla Yameen’s ongoing wave of politically motivated prosecutions.

The statement said that MP Faris had been unjustly detained for 10 months prior to his sentencing and that the trial proceedings did not give him adequate opportunity for defence.

Faris was accused of using the Progressive Party of Maldives’ flag and logo at a press conference with fellow members of the Joint Opposition, after he had been removed from the party’s registry. The presiding judge had sentenced him to four months and 24 days in prison.

One faction of the ruling party is loyal to its founder and longstanding leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former president and now an opposition leader, while the other is loyal to President Yameen. A Civil Court ruling had officially given authority of the party's offices to the incumbent president.