Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan was unlawful, overturning a lower court’s ruling on Tuesday that it was legal.

The court ordered that Khan be released, according to officials in Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Khan was arrested on May 9 by paramilitary troops in a sudden operation that saw officers smash their way into a courthouse in the capital Islamabad to detain him on multiple corruption charges.

He was then detained in a guesthouse inside police headquarters where he appeared for a special hearing in front of a judge behind closed doors on Wednesday before being remanded in custody for eight days for a charge brought by Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency. Khan’s lawyers had petitioned against judicial proceedings against their client taking place in police headquarters instead of a courthouse.

Police had justified the move, saying it was to keep Khan away from the public to maintain law and order.

Following his arrest, eight people have died and hundreds have been arrested as protests pitting his supporters against army supporters turned violent. The former PM is accused of illegally acquiring land to construct a university and has also been charged in a separate case for unlawfully selling gifts.