Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party put forward several demands to the government during the ongoing mass protest on Friday including the immediate release of jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed. In front of thousands of opposition supporters gathered at the Artificial beach area in the capital Male, MDP deputy leader Shifaz Mohamed read out three major demands to the government with an ultimatum to meet them in 73 hours and 13 minutes. Home Minister Umar Naseer on state television said Nasheed had been sentenced by a court of law and the only option for the ex-president was to prove his innocence in court. "We will not release Nasheed unless a court orders to do so," Umar stressed. The second demand included the release of jailed former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, religiously conservative Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and 1,700 other political detainees. Umar reiterated his comments by stressing that the government had no authority to influence or intervene in the matters of the judiciary. "It has nothing to do with the government. The government will enforce and abide by the rulings of the courts," Umar added. The opposition demands also included calls to conduct an independent and impartial probe into the murder of former Ungoofaaru MP Dr Afrasheem Ali and missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan. In response Umar said the trial in Afrasheem's murder was still ongoing while the authorities were using every resource in its investigation into Rilwan's disappearance. "We're continuing the investigations to the best of our ability. We're not doing it because of any demands. We're doing it because the laws necessitates the government to do so," he added. The opposition also called on president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to ensure swift reform of state institutions and immediate dialog with all political parties to eliminate mass corruption and shape the political future of the archipelago. Umar said the government has always welcomed all political parties to engage in positive and constructive dialog in matters of national interest. The government will have that much time to meet the demands and the protest would also continue until then, opposition had said. MDP had said protestors would spill out onto the street of the capital after the demands are announced. Police had earlier backtracked on its decision after initially agreeing to allow the protest to continue. The u-turn came after home minister Umar Naseer said on twitter Thursday morning that he had asked the police to restrict the protestors to the Artificial Beach area and end it by midnight Friday. Home ministry on Thursday urged opposition protestors to respect the laws and regulations. Most members of the MDP leadership who addressed protestors had called president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to step down after insisting that the government had failed to serve the people. They also echoed calls for the release of jailed former president and MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed is presently serving 13 years in prison after being convicted of the arbitrary detention of Chief Criminal Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency. Early this month, MDP had announced its plan to hold the mass protest on November 6. The protest was later called off after President Abdulla Yamin Abdul Gayoom declared a state of emergency on November 4. Maldives declared a month-long state of emergency in what had been extraordinary security measures following an explosion on a speedboat carrying the president and subsequent discovery of an arms haul. The state of emergency was, however, cut short and lifted after only a week following intense international pressure. - Jailed ex-president Mohamed Nasheed - Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency. Maldives’ international partners including the EU, US, UK and the UN had said his rushed trial was seriously flawed. The Maldives is facing increased international pressure over Nasheed’s imprisonment, following a UN panel ruling in the former president’s favour. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made its ruling in the report made public early last month after Nasheed filed the case claiming that his detention was unlawful. The five-member independent panel called for his immediate release. The government has on several occasions rejected the UN panel’s ruling. In the face of mounting international criticism, the government initiated the appeal of Nasheed's sentence which was rejected by the High Court. However, the Supreme Court gave permission to state prosecutor Wednesday to file a case in a bid to overturn the High Court's decision to reject the appeal. - Jailed ex-defence minister Nazim - Mohamed Nazim, who had served as the defence minister under former president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for smuggling and possessing dangerous weapons. The High Court had held two hearings over Nazim's appeal in June, but the case had been stalled ever since. But the High Court scheduled a hearing last week which was later cancelled upon request by the defence. - Jailed AP leader Sheih Imran - Imran faces terrorism charges for inciting violence during an opposition rally on May Day. Imran was remanded in prison until the end of the trial before the court had transferred him under house arrest in July. However, the order lasted a day as the court sent him back to prison citing a police intelligence report. The trial resumed after a three month hiatus in October where prosecutors presented 16 items of evidence including video recordings of his speech during the protest, details of injuries suffered by law enforcement officers and damages to private property as a result of the subsequent violence. - Dr Afrasheem's murder - Afrasheem was found brutally stabbed to death on the stairway of his apartment building in October 2012. Hussain Humam was found guilty of the MP's murder and sentenced to death in January. After the High Court upheld the death sentence in September, prosecutors last week initiated the final appeal at the Supreme Court. - Missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan - Minivan News journalist Rilwan -- who was also an active human rights activist and was frequently faced with threats and verbal assault -- has been missing since August 8, 2014. He was last seen buying a ticket for a ferry to the satellite town of Hulhumale. Rilwan's family have constantly criticised the police for not being forthcoming with the investigation.