Nine, including two women, detained from protest demanding journalists’ release

Nine people were detained from a mass protest held in Male’ City on Wednesday night demanding the release of two journalists from ‘Adhadhu’ who were imprisoned on contempt charges.

The protest, led by former President Mohamed Nasheed, kicked off from in front of the MDP Haruge.

Protestors demanded an end to intimidation and persecution of journalists.

There were several clashes between the police and protestors, the first of which erupted as the protestors reached the residence of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who earlier on Wednesday said he was willing to partner with his former political rivals Nasheed and former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to “restore press freedom” in the country.

The police were seen arresting multiple protestors following the clashes.

A police spokesperson said on Thursday morning that nine protestors were taken into custody; seven men and two women.

The police said they were detained on suspicion of obstructing the police and failing to follow their instructions.

The police did not disclose the identities of the detainees.

Protestors, after heated verbal exchanges with the police outside Yameens’s residence, located near the Henveiru Artificial Beach, resumed their march and walked along the Majeedhee Magu, coming to a stop at the Majeedhee Magu-Chaandhanee Magu junction.

The huge force of riot police deployed to the area issued repeated warnings to the protestors, after which they charged at them. Physical confrontations erupted as the police attempted to dismantle the protest, with eye witnesses reporting several injuries.

Crackdown on 'Adhadhu'

Two journalists from Adhadhu, Mohamed Shahzan and Leeval Ali Naseer, were imprisoned on Tuesday on charges of contempt of court for violating a blanket gag order issued by the Criminal Court.

Shahzan was sentenced to 15 days in prison, while Leevan was sentenced to 10 days.

The gag order was issued in a criminal case against Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed on charges of making false accusations of adultery in a documentary the news outlet published on March 28.

The blanket gag order issued on Sunday explicitly prohibits any party from circulating the documentary, from directly or indirectly discussing the contents of the video, or making any comments linking any of the defendants or the victim with the documentary.

Both Leevan and Shahzan were accused of violating the gag order, Leevan with an article published regarding the issuance of the gag order and Shahzan over the questions he directed at President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Monday.

Shahzan was kicked out of the press briefing on Monday over the questions, and the President’s Office has banned ‘Adhadhu’ from all future press conferences.

Meanwhile, both Fiyaz and Hassan have travel bans issued against them, appeared at court on Wednesday for preliminary hearings in the case against them.

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), Transparency Maldives, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have all expressed concern over the situation.