Tag: SunFM

Sun apologises for brothel articles, while police summon editor for questioning

Local radio station and online newspaper ”Sun” today apologised to the public, after the Maldives Media Council (MMC)’s head Mohamed Nazeef yesterday sent a letter addressed to Sun Editors Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir and Shinan Ali requesting they do so.

The apology followed the publication of a series of stories in which journalists wrote detailed and lurid accounts of their visit to an illegal massage parlour, and solicited sex from the women.

‘Sun’ issued a press release today stating that it believed the articles were “not written professionally” and that the news organisation assured that it would maintain professionalism in its future writings.

Ali told Minivan News he was “really proud” of the journalists involved and what they had reported.

“As the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has said, this kind of reporting is new to the community and we need to get used to it,” Ali said.

In its press release, Sun said that the objective of the investigation into illegal prostitution conducted in the Maldives was to draw the attention of the concerned authorities and the public over the issue.

Sun also expressed concern that if no measures were taken, prostitution would become widespread as with the drugs that circulated in the Maldives in 1970s.

The MMC has forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General, and Zahir was today summoned to police headquarters for questioning.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said  Hiriga was questioned about the articles Sun published regarding illegal prostitution conducted inside some salons and massage centers in Male’.

”Others concerned persons were also summoned,” Shiyam said, declining to disclose further information.

The MMC has claimed that the context and phrasing of the articles published on Sun Online contained phrasing suggesting that the journalists may have engaged in ‘sinful’ activities, and were written in such a way as to encourage these activities.

The MMC claimed the articles violated its media code of ethics, including Article 1 which states that no media should publish anything against the constitution or Islam, and article 9 which stipulates that media should not publish pornography, sex stories, stories that encourage sex or anything that describes such activities.

The articles are now ranked ‘most read’ on Sun Online’s website.

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Media Council calls on Sun editors to publicly apologise for brothel journalism

The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has called on the editors of Sun Online and Sun magazine to issue a public apology following the publication of a series of stories in which journalists wrote detailed and lurid accounts of their visit to an illegal brothel.

The articles, which now rank as ‘most viewed’ on the Sun Online website, followed three reporters on an ‘undercover’ operation in which they solicited sex from women in massage parlours.

‘’The context of the articles published on Sun Online investigating illegal prostitution in the Maldives contained phrasing suggesting that the journalists may have engaged in ‘sinful’ activities, and were written in such a way as to encourage these activities,” said the MMC.

The MMC claimed the articles violated its media code of ethics, including Article 1 which states that no media should publish anything against the constitution or Islam, and article 9 which stipulates that media should not publish pornography, sex stories, stories that encourage sex or anything that describes such activities.

‘’While it is the responsibility of journalists to research and report on unacceptable things that occur, the media should obtain information and report it accordingly to the religion of Islam, public order and in a way that does not undermine the dignity or professionalism of the Maldivian media,’’ the MMC said.

The Sun’s investigation of illegal prostitution in the Maldives revealed that ‘massage’ and medical treatment centers were being used a front for Male’s sex industry.

The Sun journalists who patronised the salons had ‘massages’ and reported that illegal prostitution was conducted widely and freely inside such places.

Some salons offered them group sex, while most  provided a list of available girls with ‘special features’ for different prices.

Executive Editor of Sun Online Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said the company was unwilling to comment pending the police investigation, after the MMC forward the case to the Prosecutor General yesterday.

However Sun magazine editor Shinan Ali said the company was prepared to issue a public apology “as the MMC is the media’s governing authority.”

“We will look into the context and the way we reported the issue,” he said, but noted that he was not surprised at the response to the article.

“As the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has said, this kind of reporting is new to the community and we need to get used to it.”

Ali said he was “really proud” of the journalists involved and what they had reported. The articles did not explicitly state that they had engaged in illegal activity, he noted.

“We are a 100 percent Muslim society and our journalists are Muslim, and they should not be exposed to this kind of illegal activity – this is the reason why they did not state this directly.”

The focus on the journalists was “sidelining the real issue,” Ali said, observing that explicit material was already readily available in the form of songs and TV shows.

“But these illegal things are happening every hour in our own society, and we need to talk about them. Readers need to get used to this kind of reporting,” he said.

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Government can’t restrict judges from entering Supreme Court: lawyer Shaheen Hameed

Prominent lawyer Shaheen Hameed has said that the government did not have the authority to restrict judges of the Supreme Court from entering the court, reported radio station SunFM.

Shaheen Hameed is the nephew of former President Gayoom, and has represented current President Mohamed Nasheed when he was arrested by the former administration.

SunFM reported that Shaheen claimed he had lately noticed the armed forces and power of executive attempting to work beyond the laws.

Moreover, Shaheen Hameed claimed the government was influencing the juducial system, an institution stated as independent in the constitution of the Maldives, and that the attempt was “against the spirit of the constitution.”

The government contends that the Supreme Court and the interim judges ceased to have legitimacy on conclusion of the transitional period last Saturday, with the annulment of Chapter 14 governing transitional matters, and has urged parliament to legislate the appointment of a new Supreme Court as a matter of urgency.

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Gayoom awarded SunFM ‘Personality of the Year’

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was awarded the SunFM ‘Personality of the Year’ at a ceremony on Wednesday night.

Gayoom received 44 per cent of the SMS vote, with his former deputy Ahmed Thasmeen Ali coming second with 31 percent.

In other categories, business magnate Champa Hussein Afeef was voted the business personality of the year, actress Mariyam Afeefa the female entertainment personality and singer Muhthar Adam the male entertainment personality of the year.

While the sports awards went to volleyball players Aishath Nazima and Ibrahim Nizar, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Ahmed Mahlouf and Ali Waheed were chosen as the most popular MPs.

The awards were handed out by SunFM owner and MP Ahmed “SunTravel” Shiyam Mohamed. Shiyam was also a deputy leader of the DRP before he resigned in the wake of Gayoom’s presidential election loss.

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