Saudi embassy stirs controversy with cash handout to journalists
The Saudi Arabian embassy in Malé has stirred controversy after handing out envelopes with MVR500 (US$32) in cash to journalists who were invited to cover an event on Sunday.
21 Feb 2017, 9:00 AM
The Saudi Arabian embassy in Malé has stirred controversy after handing out envelopes with MVR500 (US$32) in cash to journalists who were invited to cover an event on Sunday.
The envelopes were handed out after the journalists covered the donation of US$1,000 from Ambassador Bader Ali al-Kohail to Ahmed Nabeeh, a 14-year-old autistic boy who memorised the Quran.
Abdulla Mohamed, a Raajje TV journalist who covered the event, told the Maldives Independent that an embassy official called his phone soon after he left the building and asked if he could come back.
“I initially thought that they wanted to give a statement and went back inside with my cameraman,” he said.
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