Complaints have been filed at the National Integrity Commission (NIC) and the People's Majlis over the police leaking of a photo from the confiscated mobile phone of a young opposition activist.
Aishath Shimon Ahmed, 20, was cornered near her home in Male' late on Wednesday night, where officers snatched the phone without showing a warrant.
Police refused to explain why her phone was snatched and initially did not comply with demands to see a court warrant for its seizure.
But they later showed the warrant and accused the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) youth wing member of posting on social media to threaten President Mohamed Muizzu.
Less than 24 hours after her phone was seized, an anonymous account on social media X leaked the photo from her phone.
X has now suspended the account after multiple social media users reported it for violating the platform's rules.
Shimon's lawyers told Adhadhu that a complaint was filed with the NIC on Friday, while the matter was submitted to the People's Majlis today.
The complaints state that the police had infringed on her constitutional right to privacy and attempted to tarnish her reputation by leaking the nude photo.
In an interview with Adhadhu, Shimon accused the police of leaking the photo from her phone.
"That data was only on my phone. Nowhere else. That photo cannot be found anywhere else. Police took my phone, confiscated it and less than 24 hours passed before it was leaked. That information will not be anywhere else," she said.
In a statement shortly after Adhadhu published the news, the Maldives Police Service denied leaking the photo from the phone in their custody.
They claimed that evidence, including digital devices, is handled in accordance with international standards.
"There is no possibility of information leaking from any mobile phone confiscated by the Maldives Police Service," it stated.
But their denial faced fierce backlash from social media users, who raised questions about the integrity and professionalism of the institution.
