Rakeedhoo relocation, drug sentencing and media law backlash

The United Kingdom urged the Maldives government to uphold commitments made at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where it “reaffirmed the vital role of free, independent, and responsible media in democracy”.

Regional rights group South Asians for Human Rights condemned the Maldives’ new media regulatory laws. The legislation establishes a commission with sweeping powers to fine, suspend, and block media outlets, raising concerns it could be used to suppress political dissent and government accountability reporting, SAHR said. SAHR urged the Maldivian government to reconsider the law and pursue amendments that protect constitutional guarantees of press freedom.

President Muizzu began an eight-day visit to four atolls starting with Vaavu atoll on Friday. Speaking at a rally in Felidhoo, he warned journalists to respect the newly ratified media regulatory law. He also said Muslims must refrain from making false accusations against others.

The Maldives Journalists Association held its first rally as part of a civil disobedience campaign against the recently ratified media regulatory law on Friday evening at the Usfasgandu area in the capital. MJA Vice President Mohamed Shahzan said the campaign marked the start of a wider effort against the government’s new "media control law."

Residents of Rakeedhoo in Vaavu atoll, an island with fewer than 100 people, requested relocation to Thuludhoo in Kaafu atoll, according to the President’s Office. Muizzu said residents would only be relocated if more than 80 percent supported the move. 

The criminal court sentenced Shaheeb Ibrahim, a 44-year-old man on trial for smuggling 130 kilograms of drugs in 2020, to life imprisonment. He turned himself in to police after the criminal court ordered the arrest of his wife for aiding him in evading capture. Police had been searching for Shaheeb ahead of a sentencing hearing.