Emergency motion over police seizure of Adhadhu equipment rejected

An emergency motion submitted to the Parliament on Tuesday seeking an investigation into the police raid on the office of ‘Adhadhu’ office and the subsequent seizure of multiple equipment following the media outlet’s release of the documentary “Aisha,” has been rejected. 

The motion was submitted by South Galolhu MP Meekail Naseem.

Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla declined to admit the motion, stating that it did not satisfy the criteria required for emergency motions under the parliamentary standing orders. In particular, he detailed that the motion failed to comply with the provisions outlined in Article 197 (b), (k), and (m) of the standing orders.

In his motion, MP Meekail argues that the Media and Broadcasting Regulation Act provides a defined mechanism for addressing disputes concerning content published by media outlets. He argued that circumventing these procedures and resorting to a police raid on an independent media’s office and seizure of its property constitutes a violation of press freedom. He further asserted that such measures give rise to concerns that the operation may have been intended to impede the media’s activities.

Rejecting to the motion, Speaker Abdul Raheeem underscored that, in accordance with parliament’s regulations, emergency motions must be grounded in substantiated facts. He noted that the Police had affirmed that the search was conducted pursuant to a lawful court order. Moreover, he emphasized that emergency motions are intended to draw the government’s attention to urgent matters of substantial public or national importance, a threshold he determined was not met in this instance.

Notably, travel ban orders have been issued against Adhadhu’s Chief Executive Officer Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and Managing Editor Hassan Mohamed in connection with the police investigation.

The documentary “Aisha” contained serious allegations concerning the personal conduct of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Addressing the matter at a press conference on Monday, the President dismissed the claims as “outright lies” in response to questions from the media.