High Court has ruled that the arrest and detention of South Galolhu MP Ahmed Mahloof was unlawful.

The opposition-aligned lawmaker was arrested during the state of emergency on February 22 and was charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

He was arrested for distributing gas masks at a protest near the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) office, and detained for 13 days. The Criminal Court then sentenced him to four months and 24 days.

After concluding the appeal hearings, the High Court on Sunday stated that Mahloof’s arrest was unlawful, as the laws dictate that an MP can only be arrested following the approval from the Prosecutor General’s office.

The three-judge bench, which includes chief judge Sujau Usman, ruled to nullify the lower court’s arrest order.