MALE, Maldives - The political crisis in the Maldives has deepened as lawmakers voted to fire the country's chief public prosecutor after he refused to press corruption charges against the country's sacked vice-president.

Fifty-seven lawmakers of the 85-member Parliament voted late Tuesday to fire Prosecutor General Muhtaz Muhzin.

His sacking comes days after he refused to charge former Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb for corruption, saying the police did not have a strong case. Adeeb is now in detention suspected of plotting to kill President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Muhzin is the third top official sacked by Parliament controlled by Gayoom since July after Adeeb and his predecessor Mohamed Jameel.

The Indian Ocean nation became a democracy in 2008 after years of autocratic rule but its transition has been difficult.