Maldives' apex court on Tuesday effectively ordered the relevant authorities not to arrest former president Mohamed Nasheed ahead of his return from self-imposed exile on November 1.
Supreme Court in an interim order on Tuesday said the serving of Nasheed's prison sentence has been temporarily suspended until it reviews his jailing as requested by the country's prosecutor's office.
Court said the interim order has also been issued on the request of the Prosecutor General's (PG) office.
Nasheed lives in self imposed exile most recently in Sri Lanka after he was allowed to leave to the UK on medical leave in an internationally brokered deal following his jailing on terrorism charges.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison over the arbitrary arrest and subsequent detention of a sitting judge while he was president.
Several international organizations including the United Nations (UN) had denounced Nasheed's jailing on serious flaws with violations of his right to a fair trial.
Prosecutor General's (PG) office in a statement said it has petitioned the Supreme Court to review its decision to uphold Nasheed's conviction in 2016 "due to mounting requests."
Nasheed's return on November 1 was announced days after after the opposition alliance secured a surprise victory in last month's presidential elections.
He however, has refused to heed increasing calls to ask the Supreme Court to review his conviction.
Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile has insisted that the former president would return to the country a "free man."
MDP has planned celebrations throughout the Maldives to welcome Nasheed back to the country.
