Deported for ‘practising journalism’

 

Elwira Szczecian doesn’t remember a single summer in the last ten years that hasn’t included a trip to the Maldives. Her visits often last for up to 40 days and involve a usual mix of diving, sunbathing and photography.

This year, the Polish photographer and her businessman husband returned to their home in Rome after spending only a week in the tropics. There won’t be another trip for the next ten years – that’s the duration for which the Maldives immigration department has handed the couple a travel ban last week.

“It happened very quickly,” she says on July 31, a day after she landed in Italy. “I was in the capital city of Malé. We were standing next to the crowd [of anti-government protestors] and taking photos. That’s when the police came and arrested us.”

 The news of her arrest spread quickly on Twitter, helped by the presence of local media and bystanders who filmed the police escorting her away from the venue. The police later accused Elwira, who has occasionally worked as a photojournalist, of “practising journalism” after entering the Maldives on a tourist visa.

 But for a country that has over a million visitors from across the world every year, it’s not unusual for journalists to use the ‘visa on arrival’ facility for tourists to expedite their reportage. Although Elwira denies the charge vehemently, for observers, her detention was yet another sign of the government’s ongoing efforts to silence its dissenters.

 Before her visit this year, Elwira was aware that the country’s political climate was far from amicable. In the past year, three media outlets – news websites CNM and Addu Live, and Haveeru, the oldest newspaper in the country – were forced to shut down after a series of reportage unfavourable of the government. The past week saw at least two opposition-aligned politicians being summoned for tweeting criticism of the establishment.

 Since the last week of July, the opposition, led by the exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed, has been holding anti-government protest rallies every night. On the evening of July 28, it was one such protest that the couple stumbled on as they travelled to the capital city.

 At the police station, the two were questioned for their links to the opposition parties and the ongoing protests. Despite repeated requests, they weren’t allowed to contact a lawyer or the Polish and Italian embassies.

  After several rounds of interrogation, the two were taken to a detention centre where they were photographed, strip-searched and had their belongings taken away. 

  The next day, the police presented the couple to the criminal court and argued to extend the period of arrest. “We argued that the couple were visiting on a holiday and were staying at a resort.

 On returning to the police headquarters to collect their belongings, they were told that the immigration department has instructed them to leave the country.

 In November 2015, four journalists from German public broadcaster ARD were deported citing ‘improper permits’. 

 Elwira is yet to come to terms with being banned from her summer getaway. “In all these years, we never saw a situation so restrictive that you cannot take a photo on the street,” she says. And even if she were there as a journalist, she quips.

source-  http://maldivesindependent.com/politics/deported-for-practising-journalism-125938

Read More

Yameen and the case of a Shattered Government!

Maldives can no longer be considered as an independent nation. The Yameen government has  totally become submissive to Saudi Royal Family & Chinese! Yameen is facing international and domestic pressure over human rights abuses and allegations of corruption.

The ‘Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act’ despite being labeled by journalists as the death of free media in the island nation was accepted with 38 MPs voting in favor on Monday.Two MPs including party leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son Faaris Maumoon voted against the bill while several MPs were absent from the sitting or had walked out just before the vote.

Several pro-government lawmakers broke the three line whip during the parliament vote on the controversial defamation bill suggesting a deep division within the ruling coalition over the move to criminalize defamation. Government-sponsored bill criminalizing defamation has drawn fierce criticism from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Amnesty International called on the government to scrap plans to enact the law, which it said would have “a stifling effect on the right to freedom of expression.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had earlier urged his party leaders to vote down the bill. Foreign minister  Dunya Maumoon had also resigned citing the difference of opinions in Governance.

Home Minister Umar Naseer had also resigned moments after lawyers representing a former def. minister, sentenced on weapons smuggling charges. In his statement Umar Naseer said that he had disagreements on many occasions. That Pres. Yameen is a man of conviction. He will not consult. He will not talk to other cabinet colleagues and discuss and bring solutions together. He will make decisions on his own. 

 Proving all such articulations right, President Yameen has reshuffled his cabinet again and replaced Home Minister Ahmed Zuhoor with former Deputy Minister of Education, Azleen Ahmed. The reasons for the sudden change remains unclear.

People who were once Pres.Yameen's allies are rapidly opposing his decisions and questioning on his capabilities as a President. Yameen is an absolute dictator and a total authoritarian. He does things as he wish does not care about citizens of Maldives.

The political situation in Maldives is shifting rapidly and the sudden decisions being taken by the President shows that he is not able to handle the situation. The coming days seems to bring some unexpected changes in the political crisis of Maldives!

Read More