Maldivian protesters in defence of press freedom arrested

The Maldivian Democratic Party calls for the immediate release of protesters — many of whom are MDP members — arrested last night in Malé by police at a demonstration against President Muizzu's crackdown on press freedom in the Maldives.

This past week alone has seen:

The issuance of an overreaching and vague gag order by the Criminal Court against all Maldivian citizens, prohibiting them from directly or indirectly speaking about allegations of misconduct against President Muizzu as broadcast in a documentary produced by Adhadhu MV last month.

Charges of Qazf levied against the CEO and Editor of Adhadhu MV and the former President's Office staff allegedly depicted in the documentary.

The forceful expulsion of an Adhadhu MV journalist from the President's Office for asking President Muizzu a question regarding call records between himself and an individual he is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with. This journalist was subsequently charged with contempt of court, where his fair trial rights were violated in that he was not given adequate time to access legal representation, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

A second Adhadhu MV journalist was jailed for 10 days for simply reporting on the issuance of the gag order.

MDP MP Meekail Naseem submitted an emergency motion to Parliament to discuss the ongoing crackdown and was removed from the Parliament floor.

The Criminal Court, at the request of the Prosecutor General — appointed by President Muizzu and endorsed by a Parliament dominated by his party — has ordered that all proceedings be held in camera. This again prevents the monitoring of the trial to ensure fair trial rights are being upheld and closes off further avenues for accountability.

Legitimate protests in response to this latest escalation of President Muizzu's attacks on press freedom and democratic values in the Maldives have been met with further arrests. The jailing of journalists in the Maldives was a thing of the past, but as the Muizzu administration continues its systematic reversal of the Maldives' hard-fought democratic gains, it will soon become a common occurrence.

MDP demands the immediate release of all journalists and protesters arrested last night, and calls on President Muizzu and state authorities to abide by the constitutional rights accorded to all Maldivians.