Registered journalists barred from courtroom hearings

The Criminal Court is not allowing registered journalists access to hearings to take notes on proceedings, reports Avas.

According to procedure, journalists are required to register 15 minutes before a hearing starts to enter the courtroom.

Despite the registration process, most hearings get delayed and journalists are forced to wait in the lobby for hours before hearings begin.

Avas reported that there has been an increase in instances where journalists are kept waiting when the hearing begins and concludes.

On Monday morning, three journalists registered to attend a terrorism trial of a Maldivian who attempted to go to Syria. The hearing was scheduled for 1pm but the journalists, who were waiting in the lobby, were told at 2.30pm that it had ended.

A reporter who registered for a similar terrorism case a week ago was also kept waiting in the lobby when the hearing ended.

The reporters trying to cover last week’s hearing on the murder of Yameen Rasheed were also kept waiting and were only spoken to once the hearing had concluded.

It was the first hearing open to the public after several closed-door proceedings that had concerned Yameen’s family over “not knowing what is going on inside the courtroom”.

The criminal court made no comment and the court’s media official, Ahmed Mohamed Manik, was unavailable for comment.