The High Court has gone to recess ahead of reaching a verdict in the appeal against the 11-year jail sentence handed down by the Criminal Court against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

The last hearing in the High Court was held on November 21 this year. It was a hearing to conclude the hearings in the case.

The court gave the opportunity to Yameen and Yusuf Naeem and the prosecution to make their final statement within 30 minutes.

Concluding the last hearing of the case, High Court Judge Hassan Shafiu said the cases are being examined by the court and if there is no need to present the two parties to clarify anything, the case can be scheduled for judgment.

President Yameen's case is being heard in the High Court as soon as possible. The High Court, however, said it had gone on recess since yesterday.

The court will remain in recess until the 31st of this month. The court also announced the cases that will be heard during the recess.

These include cases of the kind prescribed by law to be decided within a certain period of time, hearings for sentencing, cases of an urgent nature and cases which the bench of judges hearing the case can agree requires expeditious proceedings.