Wisam's sentencing hearing scheduled for next Tuesday

Sentencing hearing for RaajjeTV’s senior video journalist Mohamed Wisam is scheduled for next Tuesday.

State raised obstruction charges against him on April 5, 2016, over an arrest made on March 25, 2015, while covering an opposition rally.

His sentenced hearing was initially scheduled for March 9, but the hearing was cancelled and rescheduled to 11 am on March 28.

Denying the charge, Wisam had presented four witnesses to Court, in order to prove his innocence. Prosecutors presented two witnesses, a chart of the area cordoned off by police, and video footage to prove the charge against him.

In the last hearing of the trial, held on January 31, the Court analyzed the video footage submitted against Wisam by the state, and summary charges were announced.

According to summary charges, Adam Zareer, one of Wisam’s witnesses, is a co-respondent of the charges and had given his statement 'to protect Wisam', decreeing that Zareer’s statement was 'inadmissible' in Court.

Wisam’s defense lawyer, Abdullah Haseen said that while he had been charged with entering an area closed off by police, the submitted video footage “does not corroborate the charges.”

RaajjeTV's senior videographer, Zareer was arrested with Wisam, and charged with obstruction as well. While Zareer's sentencing hearing was held on February 27, the Court found him guilty of obstruction, and sentenced him to pay a fine of MVR 3,000.

Criminal Court found Wisam guilty of a separate obstruction charge, on January 24, along with journalist Leevaan Ali Nasir, over an arrest made while covering a bomb scare in the capital Male' City in November 2015. They were both fined MVR 28,800 each.

They were found guilty of the charges on December 19, 2016. Prosecutors had requested the Court to sentence both journalists to four months and 24 days in jail, the maximum punishment.