RaajjeTV's Fairooz and Azmoon summoned by police

Two journalists at Raajje Television have been served with chits, summoning them to the police headquarters on Tuesday.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) sent summon notices to RaajjeTV senior journalists, Ahmed Fairooz and Azmoon Ahmed on Monday afternoon.

The notice states that both journalists are being summoned to the police HQ for questioning, regarding an ongoing investigation, as well as to take their statements.

Azmoon is to present himself at police HQ at 11 am on Tuesday, while Fairooz’s chit says that he is to present himself an hour later, at 12 pm. The chit does not state an exact case on why the two are wanted for questioning.

While these two journalists have been summoned to police, state raised charges against four RaajjeTV journalists in 2016.

Senior journalists Mohamed Wisam and Leevaan Ali Nasir were found guilty on obstruction charges- in December 2016- and were sentenced to pay a fine of MVR 28,800, each, on January 24. Both were arrested while covering a bomb scare in the capital Male’ City, in November 2015.

The two were arrested with the station’s Chief Operating Officer, Hussain Fiyaz Moosa; who has been charged with “touching an officer without consent.” His trial is yet to conclude.

A second obstruction charge was raised against Wisam, who was also arrested in March 2015, with senior videographer Adam Zareer. They were covering an opposition rally at the time of their arrest.

While their trials are being held separately, Zareer was found guilty and fined MVR 3,000 on February 27.

Wisam’s verdict hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 9.

The station has dismissed the charges against its staff as “baseless in its entirety,” describing the arrests and subsequent charges as “an attack on press freedom and an attempt to impede, harass and psychologically torture RaajjeTV journalists, with the objective of halting its independent broadcasts.”