The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has condemned the police reaction towards journalists who were injured while attempting to cover the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) led protest on Monday night.
Several journalists from different media organisations have reported violent police attacks on journalists covering the opposition protest.
A journalist from Miadhu, Three journalists from DhiTV, two journalists from VillaTV, one from newspaper Miadhu and a photographer from Haveeru reported they were attacked by the police.
The two journalists from VillaTV were also arrested, handcuffed, and released the same evening.
‘’As the media is a pillar that plays an important role in democracy, the freedom of media is a right guaranteed under the constitution which cannot be restricted under any circumstances,’’ said the HRCM in a statement. ‘’Persons active in the media have to be given freedom and protection.’’
The HRCM claimed some of the journalists working there were obstructed from conducting their work by using force, and ‘’therefore we condemn these actions.’’
The freedom of gathering shall also be conducted peacefully in a way that it would not be an obstacle for other peoples’ rights.
The commission advised the protesters to pay attention to these issues and “to keep their actions in accordance with the rules and regulations.”
“And in a situation where gatherings have to dispersed for security reasons, the chance of causing disruption narrows if it is conducted in accordance to the established procedures,’’ the commission said. ‘’We are now investigating the concerning issues raised after the riot.’’
The HRCM called on the police to use methods “that will not injure people and cause disturbance to citizens” when dispersing riots in the future.
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uh. that was fast. minivannews bring quality articles. but you also need to be faster and more focused. good job otherwise.
"HRCM condemns police attack on media"
We the people condemn, HRMC, Majlis, Police, Government for their incompetent nature to get what a real society wants. "Peace of mind" & "Truth".
We also condemn all the media outlets and the journalists trying to spread lies and deception to support their interests. Biased and truth twisting like "FOX NEWS" of USA. We find lot of copycats of FOX NEWS in Maldives these days. We don't want that and we only want to hear real stories with real facts not twisted and blown out of proportion truths.
We condemn ourself not being honest and standing with Truth and Truth alone.
Mr.President, please .. as the elected leader of the country you have a bigger responsibility than just being only honest to MDP manifesto. Your role is bigger than just talking about environmentally friendly ways.
We need the leader to lead us with justice, fairness and equality. That is what Almighty Allah had willed for you.
We are behind you with Allah's blessing as long as you are true to yourself. We will Insha Allah spread the word and pray for the success of your leadership with Allah's blessings.
May Almighty Allah bless us all with happiness, prosperity and truth.
In Almighty Allah we trust.
@bismuth, tell me exactly what you expect HRCM to do in this situation. i recommend you read HRCM ACT , chapter 2 of constitution, the article about hrcm in constitution. you must know that each commission, and institution has their jobs to do; and cant act as they or you want to. HRCM is not authorized to sentence or prosecute criminals. they can only observe, issue statements, make recommendation, do research, communicate and mediate..etc. they can also investigate...then forward it to relevant authorities.
Police were just doing their job.
Dear HRCM,
I am concerned with the nature of press releases that you have been issuing recently. Before a statement is made public, you will have to investigate it properly and then do so. this is what I feel that a body such as you should be doing.
Did you consider the following:
1 - was the political rally held by DRP peacefully?
2 - Did the crowd led by Mahloof, Umaru & Ilham respect the orders of the Police force? to keep away from restricted areas such as Muliaage & Police headquarters?
3 - By Maldivian Law, aren't Presidential palace & other important buildings and areas are restricted for political gatherings?
4 - Were the journalists behaving professionally? werent they stepping in between Police and the illegally gathered crowd of DRP suporters?
5 - Were there professionally trained journalists or simply sent by some biased media channels to create problems? (Dhi TV & VTV - by Gasim Ibrahim)?
6 - Werent there DRP activists with MEDIA pass stepping in to police lines and creating nuisance??
Before you come up with a statement against the Maldives Police service, who are professionally tring to do their job in a very professional manner, you need to answer all the abovbe questions.
Thank you
Hilmy
what about the rights of the police? Don't they need to have the freedom to do their job as provided under powers granted to them under the constitution? the human rights comm recognises the rights of only some people