Emergency motion over police raid and seizure of property at Adhadhu news office rejected

Speaker of the Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla has rejected an emergency motion filed over the police raid on the 'Adhadhu' newsroom, during which authorities seized property and equipment following the publication of the documentary 'Aisha' on the outlet's social media platforms.

During Tuesday's People's Majlis session, Member of Parliament for South Galolhu, Meekail Ahmed Naseem, submitted an emergency motion regarding the matter. The motion noted that in the documentary titled 'Aisha,' released on the social media platforms of 'Adhadhu' news on March 28, a former President's Office employee leveled serious allegations claiming to have had a personal relationship with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

The case highlights allegations made by the employee in the documentary, claiming that the President engaged in inappropriate conduct within the President's Office that is inconsistent with his official capacity and prohibited under Islamic Shari’ah.

The emergency motion stated that the police raid on the Adhadhu newsroom on Monday night—during which equipment was seized under a court order—occurred nearly a month after the documentary's release. It further noted that the raid followed the President's denial of the allegations made in the documentary and his subsequent pledge to request relevant authorities to take action against those involved.

The case further states that while the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Act establishes a specific mechanism for addressing disputes regarding content published by news outlets, the police’s actions—forcibly entering the offices of an independent media organization, conducting a search, and seizing property outside of these legal procedures—constitute a direct assault on general media freedom.

Furthermore, the emergency motion highlighted that *Adhadhu* is a news outlet known for publishing numerous investigative reports regarding government decisions and corruption allegations. It further asserted that this context provides grounds to suspect that the police action was a deliberate attempt to obstruct the publication for those very reasons.

Consequently, Member Meekail has submitted an emergency motion calling on the People’s Majlis to investigate the police raid on Adhadhu news and the seizure of its property. The motion emphasizes the need to ensure the constitutional guarantees of justice and equality are upheld.

However, presiding Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla stated that the parliamentary rules mandate that emergency motions must be based on factual grounds. He further emphasized that it is the responsibility of the submitting member to ensure that the claims presented in an emergency motion are substantiated by facts.

However, Abdul Raheem stated that the motion submitted by the member did not meet the necessary criteria to be classified as an emergency matter.

However, while the motion submitted by the member characterizes the police's forceful entry, search, and seizure of property at an independent media outlet as an infringement on press freedom, the police have confirmed that the search of Adhadhu News was conducted under a valid court order.

Speaker of the Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla

Furthermore, the Chair announced the decision to reject the motion, stating that it failed to meet the necessary criteria. It was noted that emergency motions are intended to bring urgent matters directly affecting public or national interests to the government's attention, or to critique actions taken or neglected by the administration; however, this submission did not satisfy those requirements.