MJA appeals contentious gag order with High Court

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) filed an appeal with the High Court on Thursday, challenging a sweeping gag order issued by the Criminal Court earlier this week, which the association alleges unduly restricts the rights of freedom of speech, media and information.

The gag order in question was issued by Criminal Court Judge Muzammil Nasir on Sunday night, in a criminal case against top officials from local news outlet Adhadhu.

Adhadhu’s CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed are on trial on charges of Qazf - an Islamic criminal charge over false accusations of adultery or fornication - in connection to a documentary the outlet released on March 28.

Meanwhile, two journalists from the news outlet, Mohamed Shahzan and Leeval Ali Naseer, were imprisoned on Tuesday on charges of contempt of court for violating the blanket gag order issued in connection to the case.

The order explicitly prohibits any party from circulating the documentary, from directly or indirectly discussing the contents of the video, or making any comments linking any of the defendants or the victim with the documentary.

The MJA confirms it filed an appeal with the High Court on Thursday, challenging the gag order.

The association said that the sweeping order “unduly restricts the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the media and information.”

The MJA has appointed Hassan Falah as the lead counsel for the association, and has stated that additional members will be appointed to the legal team once the case is registered with the High Court.

The association added that it welcomes anyone affected by the order to join the appeal as intervening parties.

News release:

MJA has submitted an appeal to the High Court challenging the sweeping Criminal Court order which unduly restricts the rights of freedom of speech, media and information.@IFJGlobal @ifjasiapacific pic.twitter.com/1kcSM6q2Hh

— Maldives Journalists Association (@mjamaldives) May 14, 2026

Both Leevan and Shahzan were accused of violating the gag order, Leevan with an article published regarding the issuance of the gag order and Shahzan over the questions he directed at President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Monday.

Shahzan was kicked out of the press briefing on Monday over the questions, and the President’s Office has banned ‘Adhadhu’ from all future press conferences.

Shahzan was sentenced to 15 days in prison, while Leevan was sentenced to 10 days.

The police had stormed Adhadhu’s office in Male’ City on April 27, seizing multiple electronic devices, including laptops and hard drives. The court has issued an order instructing the news outlet to share the passwords for the devices with the police. However, Adhadhu refused to share it, citing the need to protect their source.

The imprisonment of the journalists have sparked concern from both local and international media agencies, with the MJA, Transparency Maldives, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) all demanding their immediate release.