Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March for the arbitrary detention of chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency. 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 legal team had refused to rule out pushing for a travel boycott. "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," human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, wife of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney had said recently. However, India, the Maldives’ closest neighbour and ally, opposes such action. In a statement, the foreign ministry said it was concerned by the ongoing threat of sanctions being made by foreign counsel acting for former Nasheed, especially the presentation of a list of individuals to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office that they suggest ought to be targeted. Such a move is unwarranted and clearly amounts to a political move that is aimed to unduly influence a legal process, it added. “The Maldives rejects the position promoted by Nasheed’s foreign counsel that appears to suggest that the Maldives is a centre of political repression and extremism. This is an unfounded characterisation that must be rejected and any steps to destabilise the political situation is wholly inappropriate,” the statement read. “To advance the threat of sanctions due to a perceived lack of due process in the domestic courts is an irresponsible use of what is an essential tool of international diplomacy for gross human rights violations. The political situation in Maldives is not an appropriate use of such extreme measures.” British premier David Cameron was the latest world leader to call on the Maldives government to release Nasheed. During a press conference held Saturday afternoon as part of the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta, Cameron said Commonwealth must hold countries to account to live up to their responsibilities as members. Referring to the arrest and detention of political figures in the Maldives, he described events as “unacceptable” and called on the Commonwealth to press for dialogue and the release of all political prisoners. Cameron, whose Conservative Party maintains close ties with Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has on several occasions called on the government to release Nasheed. In its statement, the foreign ministry, however, rejected the suggestion that the former president is a political prisoner. The reality, according to the ministry, is that Nasheed has been convicted of a serious criminal offence and sentenced accordingly. “… he has the right to lodge an appeal yet has chosen not to exercise that right and had chosen to obstruct the legal process by seeking a political solution,” the statement read. The foreign ministry noted that despite the rhetoric and contrary position maintained, Nasheed has actively sought to frustrate proceedings as was evident at the hearing before the High Court. The Supreme Court is now seized of the matter, and has granted leave to appeal, it said. The government urged Nasheed and his legal team to actively engage with the appeal process so as to ensure that the issues they would seek to raise are presented accordingly. “To impose sanctions against individuals in such circumstances is overt political interference with the judicial process that is yet to reach its conclusion, and thus an example of the exact behaviour of which the former president’s legal team complains,” the statement read. “Further, the targeting individuals for sanctions at this time, would have potential wider ramifications during a period of global instability, where the international community ought to be coming together to address and oppose the threat of terrorism.” The ministry also highlighted that freedom of expression, association and speech are protected within the constitution and no action has been taken to curtail those fundamental rights. The government respects the rights of its citizens to protest and voice any concern, just as it respects the rights of other nations to offer opinion, criticism and assistance, it said. “The government merely asks that there is parity in the approach adopted for the Maldives as that adopted with any other nation,” the foreign ministry’s statement read. “The Maldives expects to be treated fairly on the international stage just as any other state would expect.” Comments by the government comes amid an extended protest by Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demanding his release. The opposition had submitted three major demands and given a three-day ultimatum to the government. In front of thousands of opposition supporters gathered at the Artificial Beach area Friday evening, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) deputy leader Shifaz Mohamed read out the three demands to the government with an ultimatum to meet them in 73 hours and 13 minutes. The release of jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed topped the demands. The second demand included the release of imprisoned former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, religious conservative Adhaalath Party president Imran Abdulla and some 1,700 other detainees the opposition considers as political prisoners. 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. 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. Government spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali, however, told Haveeru on Sunday that those demands would require the government to violate laws. The government, he assured, would not infringe on any law. “Putting forward demands and giving an ultimatum is part of the opposition’s ploy to create upheaval in the country,” the spokesperson said. “There’s no political prisoner in this government.” Muaz reiterated the government’s previous assertions that Nasheed and other politicians in prison are serving sentences issued by a court of law. Courts function independently from the government, he added.