Police questioning of Haveeru journalists an attack on free media, claims MJA
26 Feb 2011, 12:03 PM
Neil Merrett
The questioning of two Haveeru journalists by police over a report on the alleged blackmail of MPs and other high profile figures through indecent images has been criticised by the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) as a step to suppress free media in the country.
MJA President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said that the action taken by police in questioning Haveeru’s Ahmed Hamdhoon and Ismail Naseer was unprecedented under the current constitution.
The questioning represented a serious challenge in the country to investigative journalism and a denial of rights outlined under Article 28 of the constitution relating to freedom of the press.
Police confirmed that Hamdhoon and Naseer were questioned in relation to reports they had written on the police investigation into the use of false Facebook accounts to coerce hundreds of Maldivians into recording nude videos and pictures of themselves – material that would later be used to blackmail them.
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