Broadcom should be dismissed for press freedom: MP Wisam

All members of the broadcasting commission should be dismissed for the sake of press freedom, says newly elected Gan MP Mohamed Wisam.

Wisam, a former journalist, said this in a tweet on Friday night in regards to Maldives’ recent rise in the World Press Freedom Index.

In the tweet, Wisam said that he was happy to see Maldives improve its place in the press freedom index after years of steady decline and that currently the only threat to this improvement is the broadcasting commission.

Before running in the parliamentary election, Wisam was a journalist at RaajjeTV, a privately-owned television station which had to pay millions in fines imposed by the broadcasting commission for airing content that allegedly defamed Abdulla Yameen, the President of the previous administration.

This was in accordance with the controversial Anti-Defamation Act implemented by the Yameen administration. Upon assuming office in November of last year, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s first act as president was to repeal the Anti-Defamation Act.

During his time as a journalist, Wisam was one of many journalists who were victim to Yameen’s crackdown on political dissent and the media. Wisam was arrested while covering a rally in 2015, and was tried over a police obstruction charge, which the state later withdrew.

Wisam was also arrested in 2018 for allegedly impersonating a police officer in a video depicting masked men in police uniforms criticizing the Yameen administration. He was subsequently released over lack of evidence.