Maldives
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2
Mar
2017
Hassan Mohamed and Hassan Moosa
The police had already taken journalists Hassan Mohamed and Hassan Moosa of the Maldives Independent into “protective custody” in Faafu Atoll on Wednesday night, March 1 after ruling party supporters threatened them with assault. They were held overnight and released at 10 am on March 2. The police refused to let them contact their families or editors, and turned down a request by the Maldives Independent to speak to them on Wednesday night. A police officer looked through their notes and photos before they were released.
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27
Aug
2016
Journalists
On July 27, riot police officers blocked a silent protest staged by journalists against the controversial, proposed defamation bill currently before parliament. Wearing T-shirts with the slogan, ‘In defence of 27,’ referring to the article of the constitution that guarantees freedom of expression, a group of about 20 journalists from several media outlets planned to demonstrate but the area was cordoned off and journalists were blocked.
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9
Aug
2016
Anti-Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act
On August 9, the Maldivian Parliament passed the Anti-Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act with 47 Members of Parliament voting in favor and 31 voting against. The act was presented to Parliament for voting despite international condemnation against the new legislation. The law criminalizes defamatory speech, remarks, writings and actions and empowers the state authority to shut down media for its ‘defamatory’ contents. The law includes a fine between MVR 25,000 (US$1,621) to MVR 2million (US$130,000) or up to six month of imprisonment for slander, remarks or content that threatens national security or breaches social norms. Individual journalists found guilty face fines between MVR50, 000 (US$3,242) and MVR150, 000 (US$9,727), while a decision can only be appealed once the fine has been paid. In addition, journalists could be forced to reveal sources of information, which contradicts the Article 28 of the Maldives Constitution.