Court rejects President Muizzu as defence witness in Adhadhu defamation case

The Criminal Court has rejected a request to call President Dr Mohamed Muizzu as a defence witness in a criminal defamation case against Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed over a documentary published by the news outlet containing allegations against the President.

The decision was made on Thursday during a hearing on pre-trial submissions in the case, which began in May.

The proceedings are being conducted behind closed doors, with journalists and other members of the media barred from attending.

During the hearing, the court ruled that several witnesses proposed by the defence would not be accepted. These included President Muizzu and an expert in the criminal justice system.

However, the court accepted several Adhadhu journalists as defence witnesses.

The court also scheduled the trial to begin on 22 October, with testimony from Eesha Ashraf, a former employee of the President's Office.

Eesha is alleged to have made accusations against President Muizzu in the documentary.

A separate criminal defamation case was filed against her late last month, and her trial began on Monday.

The cases stem from a documentary published by Adhadhu on 28 March, which contained allegations concerning President Muizzu.

Approximately one month after its publication, authorities searched Adhadhu's office under a court order, seized several items and launched an investigation.

The investigation began after an Adhadhu journalist questioned the President about the allegations during a press conference.

Two Adhadhu journalists have already served prison sentences in separate proceedings arising from their reporting on the matter.

Those proceedings concerned the publication of a report about the case and the questioning of the President despite a court order restricting discussion of the allegations.

The passports of all three defendants in the criminal defamation proceedings have also been withheld.