Several local journalists were injured during the opposition rally on Friday.
The rally, held by the opposition to show their support for the Supreme Court ruling on February 1, began on Friday evening near Maldives Democratic Party’s (MDP) main hub.
Journalists attending the rally to cover the protest were sprayed with pepper as well as pushed and injured by the police during their attempts to break up the gathering.
Hussain Hassan from local news station RajjeTV suffered the most injuries. He was admitted at ADK Hospital late Friday night.
According to RajjeTV’s CEO Hussain Fiyaaz, doctors reported marks present on his abdomen noting that he had suffered internal injuries.
As he was arrested whilst covering the ongoing rally, the news station further accused the police of inflicting brutal treatment on the journalists.
The journalist was intially taken to the police headquarters but with the help of lawyers and other journalists present, he was transferred to ADK Hospital. According to RajjeTV, by then he had fallen unconscious.
Jumhoory party condemned the actions of the government against journalists as "shocking" and claimed that these were targeted acts on journalists.
Fiyaaz said that although Hassan's state is improving, he will remain admitted for observation due to his injuries.
He further described events as the most brutal treatment of journalists in recent times.
During a news briefing held by ruling party Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) on Friday night, vice chairperson of the party Abdul Raheem Abdulla said that actions must be taken against media that spread information tailored towards inciting civil unrest.
He also accused RajjeTV and VTV as examples of channels spreading false information and provoking fear.
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