Maldives Correctional Service has confirmed of receiving Supreme Court order to release political prisoners and the department has commenced implementing the rule.
Correctional Service had claimed they have started with the court order procedural works in order to implement the orders presented on the document, a response similar to Maldives Police Service.
In the order, Supreme Court had concluded ordering the state and government institutes including police and defense forces to comply with it and uphold it.
Supreme Court has also asserted the failure to comply with the order, either by defiance or excusing should be individually investigated and presented to court for pressing charges to those responsible. Top Court had ordered Attorney General to comply in the aforementioned order.
Hours after the Supreme Court ordered the relevant authorities to immediately release all jailed political leaders, the Attorney General (AG) Mohamed Anil flanked by the home minister, defence minister and army chief in a brief press briefing insisted that the government was now trying to verify the validity of the Supreme Court order.
"We haven't received any official confirmation from the Supreme Court thus far. We will of course need to verify the validity of the court order before we can enforce it," the AG insisted.
Earlier on Thursday night, President Yameen Abdul Gayoom had relieved Police Commissioner Ahmed Areef from his designation with Deputy Commissioner Saudhee taking his place. Attorney General confirmed that Areef was relieved from his post after President Yameen had tried to approach the police chief multiple times but failed.
In addition to Nasheed, the other top political leaders named in the order included Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim, religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla, former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, former vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor and deposed ruling party leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's lawmaker son Faris Maumoon.
The others named in the order included former prosecutor general Muhthaz Muhsin, magistrate Ahmed Nihan and Adheeb's brother in law Hamid Ismail.
The court said the questionable and politically motivated nature of the trials of the political leaders warrants a re-trial and ordered the authorities to immediately free the jailed leaders until a court of law sentences otherwise.
Hussain Shihab, the international spokesperson of President Abdulla Yameen said the top-court order to release the jailed political members was passed without the involvement of both Attorney General and Prosecutor General, adding the government would "engage, and consult with, the Supreme Court in order to comply with the ruling in line with proper procedure and the rule of law."
The court has ordered relevant authorities to strictly enforce the order and warned legal action against anyone who refuses to obey the court order.
The court had also annulled its anti-defection ruling and ordered the country's electoral watchdog to re-instate the dozen government lawmakers disqualified over the ruling. The Supreme Court said the anti-defection ruling was issued as a temporary solution to the constitutional dispute case filed by the state but insisted that the relevant authorities have failed to bring to effect an anti-defection law specified in the ruling.
