Police have obstructed a former President’s Office employee from presenting her defence during questioning regarding the "Aisha" documentary, which features allegations that she was a victim of sexual predation by President Mohamed Muizzu.
The former employee was summoned to the police criminal investigation building at 4:00 pm today. Speaking to reporters after the session, her legal counsel, Hussain Shameem, stated that police denied his client the opportunity to provide a statement in her defence.
"We requested an opportunity to speak in defence, but they did not grant it at all. We pointed out that this would be a procedural error and that the Prosecutor General’s Office and the courts would eventually raise the same questions," Shameem said.
Shameem further noted that while procedural rules require allowing a defence statement, the investigating officers claimed they did not have the authorisation to grant that opportunity.
"They did, however, record in the official statement that the opportunity to speak in defence was not provided," Shameem added.
The defence intended to detail how the former President’s Office employee became a victim. Shameem emphasised that his client is the victim in this matter, but was blocked from explaining how she was victimised.
The lawyer referenced official state publications, such as the "Riveli" magazine published by the Family Protection Agency, which detail the patterns of how individuals are victimised. Shameem noted that these publications describe how perpetrators use psychological abuse, isolation, and the creation of financial or professional dependency to groom and control victims.
"It involves using one's position of power or social standing to coerce individuals into certain actions," Shameem said, citing the magazine's definitions.
Shameem asserted that all the elements of victimisation described in the Riveli magazine are present in the current case being investigated by the police. However, he reiterated that the police refused to allow these points to be entered into the record.
According to Shameem, the former employee was questioned today on allegations of Qazf (an Islamic criminal charge for making a false accusation of adultery or fornication). He stated that his client maintains she has not committed any such offence.
Following today's session, the police informed her that they had concluded gathering the necessary information from her for this investigation.
She has also been placed under a travel ban based on a secret intelligence report submitted by the police to the court. Despite the travel restrictions, her residence has not been searched.
The investigation into the "Aisha" documentary was ordered by Muizzu himself. Within hours of his directive, police raided the Adhadhu offices, seizing laptops and hard drives.
In addition to the raid, the Criminal Court issued orders to withhold the passports of Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and Managing Editor Hassan Mohamed at the request of the police. Both Fiyaz and Hassan were summoned to police headquarters for questioning last week.
