Hearing in Leevan, Shahzan’s High Court appeal cancelled last minute

High Court has cancelled the appeal hearing of ‘Adhadhu’ journalists Leevan Ali Nasir and Mohamed Shahuzan, who were previously imprisoned for contempt of court.

The appeal hearing was scheduled to begin at 10:15am on Tuesday morning; however, it was cancelled shortly before the scheduled start time. The court did not provide a reason for the last-minute cancellation.

Ahead of the appeal hearings, both journalists have already completed their respective prison sentences and have been released.

The two journalists were sentenced to imprisonment for allegedly breaching a "gag order" issued by the Criminal Court in relation to cases involving senior officials of ‘Adhadhu’ news. A High Court bench later determined that the order does not fall within any provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The High Court bench overseeing Leevan and Shahuzan’s appeal case comprises Judge Hussain Mazeed, Judge Dheebanaz Fahumy and Judge Ibrahim Mahir.

Notably, Judge Dheebanaz and Judge Mahir were members of the bench that reviewed the High Court's initial dismissal of a case concerning the gag order filed by the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), where both judges issued differing rulings.

The proceedings that resulted in the sentencing of the two journalists were conducted behind closed doors at the Criminal Court.

Speaking to Sun at that time, Adhadhu’s CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa stated that both journalists were detained and imprisoned without being given an opportunity to defend themselves against the allegations. Shahuzan was sentenced to 15 days in prison, while Leevan received a 10-day sentence.

The imprisonment of the journalists drew widespread concern from international organisations, including the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).