MP Musthafa to CPJ: available to comment reg. RaajjeTV fines, MBC "deliberately misinterpreted" my statement
Musthafa's tweets come after CPJ's detailed report on the issue, where it noted that they were unable to get his contact information
MP Mohamed Musthafa donates money to RaajjeTV's "Aburufulhu Fund"
Thimarafushi constituency MP Mohamed Musthafa has said that RaajjeTV's latest fine was imposed after "deliberately misinterpreting" his statement.
The station was fined MVR 500,000 earlier this month, for broadcasting a statement by the lawmaker on the 28th July, during a live program. Musthafa was spared of any fines.
In a series of tweets sent in English on Thursday, MP Musthafa told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who recently wrote a detailed report on the issue, that he is "available for comment" if the organization wished to contact him regarding the fines imposed on RaajjeTV. His tweets come as CPJ, in the article, noted that it "was unable to find the contact information for the parliamentarian".
Hence, MP Musthafa took to twitter, where he highlighted that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen "is by far the most brutal and corrupt dictator" the Maldives has "ever seen," whose aim is "to eliminate free media".
"Attacks and fines on RaajjeTV are proof enough," he said.
Furthermore, the parliamentarian said that he had not stated "anything that violated the Constitution" on the live program, emphasizing that the station was fined "by deliberately misinterpreting" his statements.
"The government of President Yameen is in a state of free fall, with little to no public support," added Musthafa in his tweets to CPJ.
Committee to Protect Journalists had released a detailed report on the continued injustices against RaajjeTV, with interviews from officials of the station, president of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) Mohamed Shaheeb and renowned lawyer Ibrahim Riffath.
RaajjeTV's managing director Ahmed Saleem told CPJ that its staff "are not doing journalism now, they are begging for help and assistance to just keep alive".
"You can imagine the psychological impact that will have on our staff, on the station, on the business, on supporters. This is a very serious issue," said Saleem.
The MVR 500,000 is the third fine imposed on RaajjeTV within a span of seven months. Former pro-government MPs have said that the purpose of introducing the Anti-Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act, in August 2016, was to target RaajjeTV.
MP MUSTHAFA'S TWEETS:
