Qasim sentenced to 38 months in prison

Criminal Court has sentenced the Leader of the Jumhooree Party, Qasim Ibrahim, to three years and two months in prison.

At the closed hearing held tonight, Qasim was sentenced in absentia. There has been no information on the sentence from the Criminal Court.

Part two of the Article 73-C of the Constitution states that if an MP gets convicted of a criminal offense resulting in a sentence of more than one year, the said MP would lose their parliamentarian seat. And Article 74 states that if the validity of a parliamentary seat comes to question, a decision on the matter would be made by the Supreme Court following an investigation.

Qasim's legal team said that the sentence passed on their client was not a valid one becuase a sentence cannot be passed in absentia in a criminal case according to the law.

After collapsing in the courtroom earlier in the day, Qasim was ordered to appear at the court again for a hearing tonight at 11 p.m. while he was admitted at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in treatment.

But neither Qasim nor his lawyers appeared at the hearing tonight.

Doctors have advised Qasim to go abroad for treatment for his heart condition as the treatment is not currently available in the country.