Raajje TV cameraman fined US$195 for obstructing police
Following the guilty verdicts and US$1,800 fines handed to Raajje TV journalists Mohamed Wisam and Leevan Ali Nasir last month, Adam Zareer becomes only the third journalist to be convicted in the Maldives in more than a decade.
27 Feb 2017, 9:00 AM
A cameraman from the opposition-aligned Raajje TV has been found guilty of obstructing police duty and handed a fine of MVR3,000 (US$195).
Delivering the verdict Monday afternoon, Judge Adam Arif said the defence failed to challenge the eyewitness testimony of two police officers, which he deemed sufficient to prove guilt.
Adam Zareer was arrested during the station’s coverage of an opposition protest in March 2015. The 29-year-old maintained his innocence during the trial, stressing that he had an accredited press pass when he was filming the protest.
The state prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of four months and 24 days, but the judge opted for the fine as Zareer has no prior criminal record.
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