Opposition leader Qasim Ibrahim, who has yet been denied permission to fly abroad for medical treatment, can bring in foreign doctors if he so wishes, said Home Minister Azleen Ahmed.

In a letter addressed to Ahmed Shihan, the Chief Commissioner of Prisons, Minister Azleen said that Qasim Ibrahim had not asked for medical leave abroad before the Criminal Court’s jail sentence against him last week.

The letter asks Commissioner Shihan to grant the Jumhooree Party leader with adequate room to have doctors provide him treatment while in custody.

It further states that Commissioner Shihan’s office must guarantee that Qasim Ibrahim receives all the medical treatment he requires, if the provisions that his defence asked for takes too long to be implemented.

As such, he reserves the right to have foreign specialist doctors brought to the country and that equipment at the state-operated Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) are available to be used for this purpose.

The Jumhooree Party leader was sentenced to three years, two months, and 12 days in prison over the bribery allegations made against him.

The parliamentarian was charged under Section 510 of the Penal Code – on bribery and official misconduct – claiming that he had attempting to influence the authority of a public official.