The opposition leadership on Tuesday refused to leave the High Court in protest over the stalled appeal of the Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) presidential candidate.
Specialist Operations (SO) police arrived and questioned the opposition leaders after they refused to leave, demanding a reply to a letter sent to the court on the previous day.
Senior members of the opposition coalition went to the High Court around 10 am and left after 3 pm when the police arrived.
High Court Information Officer Ameen Faisal told Adhadhu that the opposition leaders were told that the court would reply to their letter but they wanted to wait until it was delivered.
"We told them to leave, that we will reply. But they were at the court when it was time to close the office. I don't know whether they left because the police told them to or not," he said.
Adhadhu has learned that the court has not replied to the letter yet.
The police arrived and questioned the PPM leaders because they refused to leave when the court's official working hours ended. The police informed them that they could not stay inside after closing time.
"So we ended for the day and went out," a senior PPM official told Adhadhu.
Former president Abdulla Yameen, who was awarded the PPM's presidential ticket to contest in the September 9 election, was sentenced to 11 years in jail last December. He was found guilty of accepting a bribe to lease Vaavu Aarah and of laundering the money, but his legal team appealed the verdict at the High Court.
The opposition has expressed concern over delays in concluding the appeal.
With the Elections Commission due to start accepting candidacy papers next Sunday, it is unlikely that Yameen's candidacy would be accepted. The opposition has called for postponing the presidential election until "justice is served" for Yameen.
