Adhadhu officials Fiyaz and Hassan plead ‘not guilty’ to charges

Combined photos of Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa (L) and edidor Hassan Mohamed (R).

Top officials from local news outlet Adhadhu have pled ‘not guilty’ to the criminal charges pressed against them.

Adhadhu’s CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed have both been charged with Qazf - an Islamic criminal charge over false accusations of adultery - in connection to a documentary the outlet released on March 28.

The charges against them were filed with the Criminal Court on May 10, which began pretrial hearings on May 13.

The charges against them were read during a hearing on Monday. Both Fiyaz and Hassan, who have been barred from traveling overseas until July 26, entered a plea of “not guilty.”

The two sides will be presenting their evidence next.

The trial against the Adhadhu officials is being held behind closed doors.

The police had stormed Adhadhu’s office in Male’ City on April 27, seizing multiple electronic devices, including laptops and hard drives. The court has issued an order instructing the news outlet to share the passwords for the devices with the police. However, Adhadhu refused to share it, citing the need to protect their source.

(From L-R) Adhadhu’s editor Hassan Mohamed, journalists Mohamed Shahzan and Leevan Ali Naseer, and CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa outside the Criminal Court on May 12, 2026. (Photo/MJA)

Meanwhile, two journalists from Adhadhu, Mohamed Shahzan and Leeval Ali Naseer, were imprisoned on May 12 on charges of contempt of court for violating a blanket gag order issued by the Criminal Court in connection to the case.

The May 10 gag order explicitly prohibits any party from circulating the documentary, from directly or indirectly discussing the contents of the video, or making any comments linking any of the defendants or the victim with the documentary.

Both Leevan and Shahzan were accused of violating the gag order, Leevan with an article published regarding the issuance of the gag order and Shahzan over the questions he directed at President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on May 18.

Shahzan was kicked out of the press briefing over the questions, and the President’s Office has banned ‘Adhadhu’ from all future press conferences.

Shahzan was sentenced to 15 days in prison, while Leevan was sentenced to 10 days.

The crackdown on Adhadhu sparked condemnation from the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), as well as international media agencies and the opposition.