Human Rights Watch on Friday called for the release of Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed.

The international NGO said that the Maldives government should immediately drop the "politically motivated" charges against them.

Chief Justice Saeed and Justice Hameed have been sentenced to one year and seven months in prison on charges of influencing court rulings and Saeed was also sentenced to five months on obstruction charges. They are both also facing charges of terrorism.

They were arrested on February 5, the same night President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency after refusing to abide by a Supreme Court ruling on February 1 that ordered the release of nine political prisoners and 12 opposition MPs.

The NGO’s Asia director Brad Adams said: “To retain his hold on power, President Yameen has used every trick in the book, from accusing political opponents of terrorism to jailing justices of the Supreme Court. Donors and influential governments should send Yameen a clear message to end the attacks on fundamental rights and the country’s democratic institutions.”

Human Rights Watch also called on the government to release nine convicted opposition members “whose trials were politically motivated and in violation of their due process rights.”