Former vice-president, Dr Mohamed Jameel, has called upon leaders of neighbouring Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan to help the Maldives avoid "catastrophic civil unrest".
In a tweet posted today, Dr Jameel stated that the former president Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayyoom had been imprisoned on "dubious and fabricated charges". He also claimed that the Judicial Service Commission could no longer be considered to be an independent entity as it had been "politicized".
Dr Jameel had previously blamed the Majlis Speakerl, Mohamed Nasheed, as having a role to play in the JSC's supposed politicization.
Dr Jameel tagged the official Twitter accounts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan Presidency Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to help the country "avoid catastrophic civil unrest".
The former president had appealed the guilty verdict passed by the Criminal Court. The High Court had upheld the lower court's ruling.
The opposition Progressive Coalition had refused to accept the High Court's ruling, and had decided to take "direct action".
Opposition protesters have been staging protests every day since the High Court's ruling.
The interim President of the Coalition, Abdullah Abdur Raheem, and Vice President Ibrahim Shujau were arrested yesterday. They are currently being held in the detention centre in Dhoonidhoo.