Maldives, February 9: Two journalists working for French news agency Agence France-Presse have been arrested by Maldives police amid the ongoing crisis in the island nation, ANI reported on Friday.
According to a report, Atish Ravji Patel, an Indian born British national from London and Money Sharma from Amritsar, both AFP employees, have been arrested under Maldivian SoE decree for ‘national security purposes’.
The Maldives police, backed by embattled President Abdulla Yameen tweeted, “Two journalists (a British national and an Indian national) have been handed over to @ImmigrationMV to take action against them for working in Maldives against Maldives Immigration Act and Regulations”.
The police further said that the immigration authorities would take further action against them.
“We don’t have freedom of press anymore. Last night one of the leading TV stations was closed. We call for their immediate release and restoration of democracy and rule of law,” Maldives MP Ali Azhar reacted on the arrest.
“Received information about an Indian national, Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case,” Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.
According to a report, Raajje TV was forced to discontinue its live broadcast after the Maldives military threatened the country’s media. The television network also said that they did not believe there was a safe environment for its journalists to report freely and independently.
“We regret that the temporary suspension of our regular broadcast would deprive the public their right to information – a right that is vital for the public, especially at this critical time. These are protected rights that cannot be suppressed even during a state of emergency, as clearly stipulated in article 255 (b) of the constitution,” Raajje TV said in an official statement.
On Monday, emergency was declared in Maldives by President Abdulla Yameen after the Supreme Court ordered the release of opposition leaders. As the political crisis in the island nation deepens further, Yameen had also called a 15-day state of emergency.
On the political crisis, India has strongly reacted saying that it has “disturbed” on the declaration of an emergency by the government there and described the arrests of Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures as a matter of concern.