 Ali claimed that her own intervention had secured the release from military custody of Richard Naidu, a prominent lawyer who was detained on 23 January 2007 for making what the Military called "inciteful" comments on Radio New Zealand.The Military, however, denied that Ali had played a role in the release.On 10 December 2009 Ali was awarded Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand's inaugural Human Rights Defender award.