Website Maldives Independent, which provides news in English, is one of the few remaining independent media outlets in a country that ranks 112 out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. In August 2016 the Maldives passed a law criminalising defamation and empowering the state to impose heavy fines and shut down media outlets for “defamatory” content. In September, Maldives Independent’s office was violently attacked and later raided by the police, after the release of an Al Jazeera documentary exposing government corruption that contained interviews with editor Zaheena Rasheed, who had to flee for her safety. Despite the pressure, the outlet continues to hold the government to account.
Thank you very much for this great honour.
We are so humbled and pleased to be here in London with you and very excited about the coming year as Index fellows.
2017 Freedom of Expression Journalism Award-winning Maldives Independent was presented an illustration created by cartoonist Aseem Trivedi.
The day I received Index’s award email was one of my worst days as editor of the Maldives Independent. That was in January – I had already been living in exile for more than six months. Team morale was low: All of us had been arrested and some of us had received death threats. We had faced a police raid on our office. A member of our team, Ahmed Rilwan, had been abducted and disappeared. The space for independent press was narrowing by the day, but public apathy appeared to be growing. We questioned if we were making an impact. And, to make matters worse, there were questions about continued funding for the website. The odds suddenly felt too great to overcome.
And then, we received Index on Censorship’s email.
This award feels like a lifeline.
Most of our challenges remain the same, but this recognition and the fellowship has renewed and strengthened our resolve to continue reporting, especially on the bleakest of days. Most importantly, we no longer feel so alone.
Tonight I want to honour my colleague, Ahmed Rilwan – who embodies the spirit of speaking truth to power, even in the face of the gravest threats. He’s been missing for nearly 1,000 days now. I want to say tonight, that no matter how long it may take, we will continue the search for him and fight for him.
Thank you again to Index on Censorship.
A big thank you to our former editors, for the support and mentorship, and to the Maldives Independent’s brave team, Naish, Hassan, Jundu, Petu, Saya, Shaff and Thy, for your fearless reporting, and to my fellow journalists in the Maldives, for the solidarity. Thank you.
SAGE Publishing’s Ziyad Marar, 2017 Freedom of Expression Award Journalism Fellow Zaheena Rasheed, Maldives Independent’s Ahmed Naish, CNN London bureau chief Tommy Evans (Photo: Elina Kansikas for Index on Censorship)
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Maldives Independent, the Maldives’ premiere English publication and one of the few remaining independent media outlets, was formed in exile in Sri Lanka in 2004. Read the full profile.
Maldives Independent, the Maldives’ premiere English publication and one of the few remaining independent media outlets, was formed in exile in Sri Lanka in 2004. As the country’s pro-democracy movement began to grow, the staff of the Maldives Independent moved operations back home in 2005.
The publication covers many taboo subjects which are neglected by other press outlets, editor Zaheena Rasheed said, including gender, human rights, political violence, religious extremism and much more. For this, Maldives Independent has faced repeated harassment.
In September 2016, following the release of an Al Jazeera documentary exposing government corruption that contained interviews with Rasheed, the newspaper’s offices were attacked with a machete and later raided by the police. Rasheed believes whoever left a machete stuck to the door of her office is connected with the disappearance of one of her colleagues in 2014, an abduction she said has not been properly investigated by police.
Following an anonymous text Rasheed received saying she would be the next one to disappear, she left the country.
The Maldives ranks 112 out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. “Journalists in the Maldives have taken unprecedented risks in reporting on human rights, business corruption and abuse of authority. I believe a free press is crucial, essential in protecting human rights,” Rasheed said.
Despite the attacks, arrests and raids, Maldives Independent continues to produce outstanding journalism, holding the Maldives’ corrupt government to account.
See the full shortlist for Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards 2017 here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1490258749071{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Fellowship.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
A prominent journalist in the Maldives is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in the neck. Ismail “Hilath” Rasheed had his throat slit by an attacker on Monday evening, with the knife missing a vital artery by millimetres. In November, the journalist’s blog was blocked by the communication authority in the Maldives, who claimed it contained “anti-Islamic” material. A hospital source gave the journalist and blogger a five percent chance of survival.
