Maldives Independent Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Fathimath Shehenaz holds a sign outside the Malé parliament in February, calling for justice for her brother, the blogger Ahmed Rilwan, who was abducted in 2014. (CPJ)

Maldives commission renews hope of justice for Rilwan and Rasheed

March 18, 2019 6:00 PM EDT

Mission Journal: With a new presidential commission investigating the abduction of Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla and the murder of Yameen Rasheed, CPJ’s Asia program research associate Aliya Iftikhar travels to Malé in late February to speak with the bloggers’ families about their pursuit of justice, and with authorities about the progress and challenges in the cases.

President Yameen, center, surrounded by his body guards in the capital, Malé, in February 2018. The president was criticized today for comments he made about missing Maldives journalist Rilwan. (AP/Mohamed Sharuhaan/File)

Maldives president’s off-hand comment on missing journalist Rilwan highlights need for fresh investigation

August 7, 2018 5:35 PM EDT

Four years to the day that Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla was last seen by his family, President Abdulla Yameen Abdulla Gayoom declared the Maldives journalist dead.

A view of the island of Male, the capital of the Maldives in August 2016. Amid political turmoil in the Maldives, the press has come under attack. (AFP/Ishara Kodikara)

Amid political turmoil in Maldives, press comes under attack

February 5, 2018 6:32 PM EST

New York, February 5, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Maldivian authorities to stop threatening and harassing news outlets and allow them to operate freely. An opposition-aligned TV station and independent news website have come under threat of closure and cyberattack, respectively, amid an escalating political crisis.

Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom (left) arrives in Sri Lanka in this January 12, 2014, file photo. Police raided the office of the Maldives Independent on September 7 after its editor was interviewed in an Al-Jazeera documentary alleging corruption and abuse of power under Gayoom's government, allegations his government has denied.

Police raid newspaper after critical documentary airs in Maldives

September 9, 2016 1:47 PM EDT

Bangkok, September 9, 2016 – Authorities in the Maldives should cease harassing the Maldives Independent, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police raided the daily newspaper’s office hours after the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired a documentary produced by the paper’s former editor alleging high-level corruption in the Maldives.

Journalists for opposition TV station face charges in Maldives

April 11, 2016 6:20 PM EDT

New York, April 11, 2016–Maldivian prosecutors should drop charges against journalists and an executive from a pro-opposition television station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The charges come amid a mounting crackdown on press freedom in the country.