Kinbidhoo constituency MP Abdulla Riyaz has filed a habeas corpus plea after authorities refused to release him even after completing his sentence.

The Criminal Court has accepted the plea filed on Wednesday.

Under habeas corpus, courts can summon a detainee to determine if their imprisonment is legal and has the power to release him if the imprisonment is deemed unlawful.

The MP’s attorney Nooruh Salam Abubakr said he finished serving the four-month and 24-day prison sentence on September 15 and that it is now illegal for authorities to keep him in prison. The attorney said they want the court to order his release before the elections.

MP Riyaz, the former police commissioner, was found guilty of obstruction for refusing to hand over his mobile phone to the police during an investigation.

While the Criminal Court cleared him of the charges over lack of evidence, the High Court overruled and sentenced him to prison on April 24 after the state appealed.