Jailed lawmaker, Ahmed Mahloof’s family has expressed concern over the delay in commencing his appeal hearings, despite it being over two months since one of his jail terms expired.

The Galolhu-South MP was sentenced to a total of 10 months and 24 days in jail, over two separate obstruction charges. He was sentenced to four months and 24 days on July 18, over an arrest during an opposition protest, and was sentenced to an additional six months on July 25.

While his six-month jail sentence expired on January 17, he has appealed the both verdicts at the High Court.

The MPs wife, Nazra Naseem told RaajjeMV that it is concerning that the High Court is taking so long to commence the appeal process, adding that this shows High Court’s negligence in the matter.

She added that this shows the poor state of the country's judicial system, and called on authorities to begin Mahloof’s appeal hearings immediately.

Due to the delay in commencing the appeal process, Mahloof had, in September 2016, sent a letter to the High Court chief judge, Abdulla Didi.

Despite numerous attempts, RaajjeMV was unable to get a comment on a reason for the delay.

While Mahloof is an independent MP, he had been working with the opposition prior to his sentencing, and is also the spokesperson of the opposition alliance, Maldives United Opposition (MUO). The largest opposition party in the country, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has filed Mahloof's case in Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU).