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Why did Socrates disobey the Thirty Tyrants when they ordered him to arrest an innocent person?

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Marble bust of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher, showing a bearded man with a head covering and calm expression. — History of ethics Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, portrait bust.

Socrates disobeyed the Thirty Tyrants when they ordered him to arrest an innocent citizen because his entire way of life was grounded in the unshakable principle never to commit a wrong nor to participate, even indirectly, in any wrongdoing.1

The Thirty Tyrants, an oligarchy that ruled Athens following the Peloponnesian War, attempted to implicate others in their crimes by ordering them to perform unjust acts—in this instance, the arrest of a person whose money they coveted. Despite the significant danger posed by defying such a regime, Socrates refused to comply, maintaining his moral integrity. This action was consistent with his broader ethical conviction that no one who truly understands what is good and right can act against it. By refusing, Socrates demonstrated his commitment to justice over obedience to authority, a stance he also held during the preceding democracy when he refused to support an illegal collective condemnation of admirals.213