Former President Mohamed Nasheed has declared his readiness to defy a Criminal Court order prohibiting the circulation of Adhadhu's "Aisha" documentary featuring a former President's Office employee accusing President Mohamed Muizzu of sexual misconduct.
In a post on social media X, Nasheed said that he is prepared to defy the court order, viewing widespread public defiance of the injunction as a necessary protest in defence of press freedom.
"Widespread public defiance of this court order is a form of protest to defend the right to freedom of the press. I am ready to defy the court order," Nasheed wrote.
Nasheed noted that the Criminal Court issued the gag order after criminal charges were filed against senior journalists at Adhadhu for revealing the sexual misconduct allegations against Muizzu.
"An employee of the President's Office has alleged that she engaged in misconduct with President Muizzu at the President's Office. Because she revealed this through Adhadhu, the outlet is being prosecuted. The court has issued an order stating that no discussion regarding this matter can take place," Nasheed said.
The court order prohibits any party from discussing the incident and bans the dissemination of any related discussion through any medium.
Nasheed also called for the withdrawal of charges against Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and Editor Hassan Mohamed in connection with the "Aisha" documentary.
Fiyaz and Hassan are facing charges of Qazf (an Islamic criminal charge for false allegations of adultery or fornication). The prosecution cited their roles as editors in publishing the documentary. The court has decided to conduct the trial behind closed doors.
In a separate post calling for the charges to be dropped, Nasheed expressed deep concern over the state of press freedom in the Maldives.
“Filing criminal charges against journalists, forcing the disclosure of sources, raiding news offices, seizing property and equipment, and removing journalists from press conferences for asking unfavorable questions is unacceptable,” wrote Nasheed, who has a background in journalism.
The charges against Fiyaz and Hassan were filed 14 days after the investigation into the documentary began. The probe was initiated following a directive from Muizzu during a press conference, after Adhadhu questioned him regarding the allegations.
