The Criminal Court has ordered Adhadhu to hand over to police the passwords of devices that officers seized from the newspaper's office, in the case over a documentary the outlet published in late March.
According to Adhadhu, the order covers the passwords of four MacBooks among the devices taken by police. The court also ruled that data may only be extracted from the laptops in the presence of a person appointed by the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC).
Noting that the devices contain journalistic material protected by legal privilege, the court instructed that the confidentiality of any extracted information be maintained and that measures be taken to keep it secure.
Police removed the equipment from Adhadhu's office on the night of 27 April as part of their investigation into the case.
Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and managing editor Hassan Mohamed are currently on trial over the March content. Two of the newspaper's journalists, Leevan Ali Nasir and Mohamed Shahuzan, were also previously jailed in connection with the case.
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