Elder statesman rails against authoritarian reversals
Ahmed ‘Seena’ Zahir, a former lawmaker and minister, has blasted authoritarian reversals under President Abdulla Yameen, criticising judicial corruption and tyranny, the ruling party’s crackdown on oversight bodies and press freedom.
07 May 2016, 9:00 AM
Ahmed ‘Seena’ Zahir, a former lawmaker and minister, has blasted authoritarian reversals under President Abdulla Yameen, criticising judicial corruption and tyranny, and the ruling party’s crackdown on oversight bodies and press freedom.
The former Speaker of parliament and minister of justice said journalists “were even more vulnerable” than in ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30-year rule. The Maldives had never needed journalism as much, because of government opacity, bribery within the judiciary and government corruption, he said.
His remarks were made at a ceremony held by Maldives Media Council to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
He went on to criticise the Supreme Court’s outsized influence over the judiciary, and oversight bodies’ failure to act in the public interest.
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