A letter has been submitted to the Criminal Court alleging that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and two former Presidents, Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen, have violated the gag order issued by the court.
According to a letter sent to the Criminal Court by a private individual, it is believed that all three Presidents have violated the gag order. Therefore, it requested that action be taken regarding these matters.
The letter noted that Nasheed violated the gag order in a post he made on X and through various remarks. It also claimed that Yameen has repeatedly spoken in violation of the gag order, and links to his remarks were submitted along with the letter.
According to the letter, President Muizzu violated the gag order during the most recent rally held by the PNC. In this regard, it stated that the President spoke about the documentary during that rally.
In addition to the three Presidents, the letter noted that the Member of Parliament for the Galolhu North constituency Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu), the Member of Parliament for the Galolhu South constituency Meekail Ahmed Naseem, the Member of Parliament for the Vaikaradhoo constituency Hussain Ziyad, and the Member of Parliament for the Kanditheemu constituency Ameen Faisal have also violated the order.
Furthermore, as it is believed that the CEO of Adhadhu newspaper Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and legal lawyer Mahfooz Saeed have also violated the gag order, the letter requested that these matters be investigated and action be taken.
Action has been taken against two journalists and jailed after being found in violation of the gag order issued by the court, which prohibits speaking directly or indirectly about a video documentary broadcast by Adhadhu newspaper.
The decision to jail journalist Leevan Ali Nasir for 10 days was made after it was determined that the manner in which he wrote a news report regarding the gag order violated that order. Journalist Mohamed Shahuzan was sentenced to 15 days in jail after it was determined that he violated the gag order by asking President Muizzu a question related to the documentary.
The Maldives Journalists Association submitted a case to the High Court to invalidate the gag order. However, the High Court refused to accept the case, stating that the association is not a party to which the case relates. Consequently, the case has been resubmitted to the High Court on behalf of Adhadhu's CEO, Fiyaz.
The Criminal Court issued the gag order after the state raised criminal defamation (qazf) charges against Fiyaz and Adhadhu's Managing Editor Hassan Mohamed, and requested the state to issue such an order.
