Raajje Television’s management has said that it is pleased with the acclaim its ‘Dignity Fund’, which it established to supplement efforts to pay various fines against the station and its staff, has amassed. 

The station launched its ‘Dignity Fund’ at the Raajje Television’s head office in Malé City on Friday, following a MVR 200,000 fine against it over defamation allegations. This same verdict – put forth by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) for alleged violation of broadcast regulations – also fined a former journalist with the station by a sum of MVR 50,000.

“The baseless defamation charges are exceptionally frightening, because they aim to choke and silence journalistic expression, a dark predicament” said Raajje Television’s Chief Operating Officer, Hussein Fiyaz, at Friday’s event to launch the fund.

Two other journalists with the station had been fined by MVR 28,500 for ‘obstruction of justice’ after they were arrest while covering a bomb scare in Malé City, and their cameraman, Adam Zareer, was fined by MVR 3,000 – in what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had described as undemocratic and unjust charges.

A credible source has informed Raajje Television that there is another impending fine of MVR 800,000 against it, also on defamation charges.

The fund has been met with enthusiasm across the nation; with citizens of Dhevvadhoo Island in Gaafu Alifu Atoll sympathetic to Raajje Television’s circumstances, having set up a donation box in solidarity with the stations own fund.