Journalists arrested in continuing crackdown in the Maldives

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 19 March 2018

The Maldives Police arrested three journalists from Raajje TV, charging two with criminal offenses for critical social media content. The International Federation of Journalists raised alarm over press freedom in the country following these incidents.

Summary

The Maldives Police arrested three journalists of opposition-aligned Raajje TV on March 16 and charged two of them with criminal offenses for allegedly uploading videos on social media which were critical of the government.

The police arrested senior video journalist Mohamed Wisam and Head of Programs Amir Saleem with court orders after the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leaders accused Raajje TV of producing and uploading the YouTube video. The video showed three masked people in police uniform saying that they would join the opposition rally. On March 18, the Criminal Court remanded Wisam and Saleem for ten days in custody.

Journalist Mohamed Fazeen was arrested on allegations of defying police orders during the opposition parties’ protest demonstrations in Male. He was handcuffed and taken into custody by traffic police. Fazeen was released on March 17 after more than 24 hours in detention.

Raajje TV denied that the station or its staff was involved in making or uploading the video. Following the accusations and calls by the PPM to shut down the station on March 16 and 17, the station has also received several threats of an arson attack and has sought police protection.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed serious concerns over the incidents of arrest of journalists; and accusations without evidence of carrying out illegal activities. The IFJ also condemned threats of an arson attack on the station and demanded that the journalists be released immediately, and security ensured to protect the television station from any attack.

The IFJ said: “The IFJ is seriously concerned by the pressure on independent media in the Maldives since the imposition of the state of emergency on February 5. Press freedom has suffered as journalists have been subjected to harassment, and opposition media have been baselessly blamed for supporting protests. The IFJ urges the Maldivian government to respect press freedom and ensure that journalists and media can freely report on happenings of the country without fear of reprisal.”

The IFJ has joined the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee of Protect Journalists (CPJ) to express grave concerns on ongoing restrictions and threats on media and press freedom in the Maldives and called on authorities to allow media to carry out work without reprisal. – IFJ media release