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Maldives
opposition media harassed:RSF Mohamed Yushau, its correspondent in the south of the country, was arrested on April 9 for allegedly refusing to respond to a police summons and was put in Dhoonidhoo prison near Male, RSF said. Musa Ismael, a correspondent in the southwest, has been harassed by the authorities and thinks he could be arrested. Abdullah Saeed, another of its journalists, has been held in Maafushi prison, south of the capital, since March 27, 2006. Photojournalist Jennifer Latheef is meanwhile under house arrest after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for ‘terrorist’ activities, they said. “The security services should not be obstructing the work of the independent and opposition media in this fashion, as it is contrary to the pledges which the Government gave in its recent road map to democracy,” Reporters Without Borders said, calling for Yushau's release, an end to the harassment of Minivan's journalists, including Ismael, and due process for Saeed, RSF said. Yushau, who is also a member of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, has written many articles about the lives of ordinary Maldivians, especially fishermen on Thinadhoo atoll. The police waited two days before telling his family he had been arrested, it said. Ismael, who is accredited as Minivan's correspondent on Faafu atoll, southwest of Male, has been summoned several times by the authorities and has told his editors he fears he could be arrested. Saeed, who is better known as Fahala, is serving a two-month prison sentence for refusing to undergo a urine test. He is also being prosecuted for possession and trafficking in drugs. The police claim they found drugs in his clothes when he went to a police station. Minivan says this is a trumped-up charge. Saeed faces life imprisonment. Reporters Without Borders fears that Saeed is being prosecuted just to put an end to his work as a journalist. When he appeared in court, he was handcuffed and wearing a prisoner's uniform. The judge, who insisted on not being named, is obstructing the rights of the defence, observers said. Saeed's lawyer has accused the police of planting the drugs on his client. Nothing was found on him in a first search. The drugs were found by a policeman during a search of his clothes a few minutes later after he had undressed and when his back was turned. His lawyer was not present for these searches. Latheef, who has been under house arrest at her Male home since 21 December 2005, is still receiving threatening visits from prison authority officials and sudden court summonses in connection with her appeal. The authorities have not replied to her request to be allowed to go abroad for treatment for spinal pain resulting from the blows she received at the time of her first arrest, RSF said. |
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