Nasheed had backtracked on his decision to not appeal his prison sentence by opting to go to the Supreme Court, his lawyers said on Saturday. Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency. The former president had earlier said he would not seek a legal remedy, but instead opt for a political solution. Government, however, had always maintained that the issue could only be resolved through the legal procedures. Nasheed’s lawyer Hisaan Hussein told reporters that her client is now willing to retract his previous decision as he is eligible for a reduced sentence under the new penal code. “He [Nasheed] understands the intense international pressure the Maldives is subjected to and the subsequent economic implications due to his sentence,” she said, during a press conference held by Nasheed’s legal team Saturday afternoon. In a statement welcoming the decision, foreign ministry pointed out that the appellate courts are the appropriate forum for Nasheed to raise his concerns over his trial and subsequent sentence. The ministry was also quick to highlight that the former president has not at any time been precluded from filing an appeal, and has consistently been reminded of his right to do so, and further encouraged to embark upon this course of action. "The government of Maldives respects the rule of law, and reaffirms the position that its judiciary is fully independent and impartial," the statement read. "The fact that the former president is now seeking to file an appeal reaffirms this position." In late October, the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office said the Supreme Court had been asked to start proceedings in the case filed seeking to overturn the High Court's decision to reject the state initiated appeal of former president Nasheed's prison sentence. The office made the claim when asked by Nasheed's lawyers to confirm whether or not the Supreme Court had accepted the case. In a letter sent in response to Nasheed’s lawyers, the PG office said at the time that the case was filed with the Supreme Court on September 17. The court was asked on October 11 to begin proceedings in the case, it had added. The PG office had in September asked for the Supreme Court's intervention after the High Court rejected the state initiated appeal of Nasheed's sentence. State had initiated the appeal based on the “procedural irregularities” flagged by the defence during the trial. Nasheed had waived his right to appeal after claiming that the lower court had failed to provide trial records within the window for appeal. The appellate court had made the decision after a pre-trial hearing to decide whether to accept the appeal. Though the right to appeal was a constitutional right, as the appeal had not been filed by Nasheed, it cannot be accepted, High Court's decision had said. Meanwhile, a UN panel had ruled in favour of Nasheed. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made its ruling in the report made public in early October after Nasheed filed the case claiming that his detention was unlawful. The five-member independent panel called for his immediate release. The government has, however, rejected the UN panel’s ruling. The former president’s lawyers have stepped up their efforts to impose targeted sanctions against the Maldives and its leadership, following a UN panel ruling late September declaring his imprisonment as arbitrary. The statement also urged to cease calls for sanctions and other such extreme measures to allow the judicial process to take its natural course, and refrain from seeking to criticise and undermine the process further.