On 19 September 2003, Evan Naseem who was serving at Maafushi jail was severely beaten up and ultimately paid with his life, the end result of a series of complicated disputes between inmates. News broke out the following day and there was a civil unrest in the capital city of the Maldives, Malé. The BBC covered this event and Moosa gave an interview to the BBC the following month and left Maldives, on 15 October 2003, to the United Kingdom. The interview was aired on 17 October 2003. He says he left the country because he believed he would be in danger if he remained in Maldives. "I have already left the country fearing the worst" said Sappé in a written statement published on his website.