A police raid on a local news organisation did not constitute an assault on the press, the Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology, Ali Ihusaan, contended, defending a criminal inquiry into allegations broadcast against the President of the Republic. The intervention followed a documentary featuring unsubstantiated claims against President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who dismissed the report as 'Qazf', the Islamic legal term for false imputations of unchastity.
Following the president’s call for decisive action, law enforcement searched the publication’s headquarters under a court order. Minister Ihusaan articulated that the execution of such a search remains fully within the legal purview of the Maldives Police Service. "Maldives Police are right to investigate & raid the news outlet over false 'Zina' allegations against the President," he wrote on social media, describing the action as an essential duty of the policing institution.
While the Constitution guarantees press freedom, those liberties are not absolute, Minister Ihusaan observed. He argued that the dissemination of false information intended to diminish a reputation cannot be protected as journalism. "Press freedom is guaranteed, but not a free pass to destroy reputations with lies," he wrote, adding that "spreading fabricated serious accusations is not journalism."
Minister Ihusaan characterised the claims of 'Zina', or illicit sexual relations, as a direct assault on the president’s human dignity, his family, and the prestige of the executive office. Such narratives, he warned, carry the potential to erode public trust and foment profound discord.
"Police are upholding the rule of law and the President’s constitutional rights," Minister Ihusaan said, framing the search as a measure to ensure press freedoms are exercised with professional responsibility. He concluded that no individual operates above the law. "Responsible freedom comes with accountability. No one is above the law," he wrote, maintaining that a just society must uphold both the liberty of the press and the fundamental right to reputational protection.