Mohamed Shahzan, a journalist with news site Adhadhu, was sentenced to 15 days in prison for contempt of court on May 12, 2026, after questioning President Mohamed Muizzu at a May 11 press conference about allegations raised in a documentary.
Authorities accused Shahzan, who is also vice president of the Maldives Journalists Association, of breaching a gag order imposed after Adhadhu released “Aisha,” a documentary in which a former employee in the President’s Office alleged sexual misconduct by Muizzu and abuse of power.
At the May 11 press conference, Shahzan questioned the president about phone calls he had allegedly made to the victim. Muizzu, who has denied all allegations in the documentary, accused him of breaching a court order that barred public discussion of the film and had him removed from the room.
The Criminal Court of the Maldives jailed Shahzan on the same day that it sentenced another Adhadhu journalist, Leevan Ali Nasir, to 10 days in prison for contempt of court for reporting on the existence of the gag order.
The sentences represent the first time that journalists have been sentenced to prison in the Maldives since the country adopted its democratic constitution in 2008, according to multiple news reports.
Human Rights Watch reported that the journalists were held in poor conditions at Maafushi prison during their detention.
The journalists’ sentences were part of an escalating crackdown on Adhadhu that included an April 27 police raid on its newsroom, the seizure of equipment, and travel bans on senior staff.
The Maldives Police Service and the President’s Office did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed requests for comment.