UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling on the Maldives government to respect the Supreme Court ruling ordering the release of political prisoners and the reinstatement of 12 lawmakers. "We believe Yameen might threaten the sitting bench with arrest if they don't revert the decision, " said Naseem.

It is significant that while countries like the US, Britain, Canada and India have weighed in with the assertion that implementing the ruling was important for restoring democracy in the country, China has so far remained quiet on the issue.

The ruling by the Supreme Court came Thursday during the hearing of a petition by the joint opposition which had sought the removal of President Yameen, alleging corruption, misrule and rights abuses. "Does he have any civic rights at all?" said president Yameen in his speech on Saturday afternoon.

Earlier, Nasheed had said the ruling cleared the way for him to return to the Maldives and contest elections due later this year.

The court also ordered the immediate release of other opposition leaders, sparking demonstrations as crowds of supporters celebrated the ruling.

"Therefore, we appeal to the worldwide community including the UN, EU, and neighbouring countries, including India, to do everything in their power to impress upon the Government of Maldives, security services and institutions to respect the Supreme Court ruling, and to uphold the Constitution and abide by Maldives commitments under global law to protect civil and political rights of its citizens".

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Gayoom's spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali on Friday tweeted that the "talk was all false and that the picture of a ticket being spread in the social media, purportedly belong to President Yameen, was falsified".

So is this the beginning of the end for Mr Yameen, as the opposition claim?

The attorney general said Mr Areef had been sacked because he was unable following the court order.

The court on Thursday night said that cases against the nine dissidents, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, were politically motivated and asked the government to release them immediately.

Though the judges did not deliver a judgment on that request, they ordered the release of nine political prisoners, saying the trials against them violated the Maldives' Constitution and global law.