High Court to hear appeal over jailing of Adhadhu journalists on Tuesday

The High Court will begin hearings Tuesday on the appeal filed by Adhadhu journalists Leevan Ali Naseer and Mohamed Shahzan, who were jailed earlier this month for allegedly violating a gag order issued by the Criminal Court.

The gag order was issued after the Criminal Court imposed a sweeping injunction in May banning the circulation and discussion of Adhadhu’s documentary titled 'Aisha', which featured allegations of an extramarital affair involving President Mohamed Muizzu and a former staff member of the President’s Office.

The order, directed at Adhadhu executives and the Prosecutor General’s Office but framed as binding on the public, has drawn criticism for lacking a legal basis under the Criminal Procedure Act.

The High Court appeal on Tuesday will be heard by Justices Hussain Mazeed, Deebanaz Fahumy and Ibrahim Mahir. While the High Court initially rejected an appeal from the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), it subsequently accepted an appeal filed directly by Adhadhu CEO Fiyaz Moosa. Deebanaz and Mahir sat on the bench that reviewed the dismissal of the MJA petition against the gag order, where the two judges had differed in their opinions. 

Leevan and Shahzan were produced before the Criminal Court in May and sentenced in a closed-door hearing. Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa told Sun then that the journalists were arrested and jailed without being given an opportunity to defend themselves.

Both journalists have completed their sentences now.

International organisations, including the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have expressed concern over the imprisonment. The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has also launched an investigation, while the Bar Council had also writen a series of formal letters to the Criminal Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office in May.