During the debate on an amendment proposed to the Clemency Act, several members of the government-controlled parliament launched a barrage of criticism and condemnation over the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s ruling that Nasheed’s imprisonment was arbitrary. Thulusdhoo MP Ibrahim Waheed from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) said Nasheed’s imprisonment came after a trial that complied with local laws and due process. International organisations like the UN should respect verdicts issued by local courts, he added. Several other pro-government MPs expressed regret over the UN panel publicising its opinion before Nasheed had exhausted the appeal process. They said appeal courts should be allowed to review the sentence. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made its ruling in the report made public on Monday after Nasheed filed the case claiming that his detention was unlawful. The five-member independent panel called for his immediate release. The government, which is facing increased international pressure over Nasheed’s imprisonment, has rejected the ruling. Meanwhile, Nasheed’s lawyers and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are pushing for targeted sanctions against the government and top officials. Nasheed's lawyer Amal Clooney called the verdict a "line in the sand" on Monday, vowing to press the international community -- particularly India -- to impose travel bans and sanctions on Maldivian officials suspected of human rights abuses. "We see this as an escalating set of measures," Clooney, wife of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney, said at a press conference in London. "We haven't come out and called for an all-out tourist boycott yet, but at the same time I don't think we would exclude it. Tourists have the power of the purse." Pro-government parliamentarians condemned the calls saying that sanctions would not only damage the government but would affect every single Maldivian, including members and supporters of MDP. MDP MPs, meanwhile, reiterated their calls for Nasheed’s release. They said the Maldives is obligated to follow rulings issued by UN panels should the country want to remain a member of the international organisation. Or else, the government should consider withdrawing from the UN and similar organisations as well as international conventions, they added. Nasheed was jailed for 13 years in March on terror charges related to the arrest of Chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed when he was still president in 2012.