Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) expressed concern on Tuesday over the court ruling ordering a journalist from Channel 13 to 12 hours of house arrest regarding his participation in a series of protests by the opposition.
The association released a statement saying the COO of Channel 13 Mohamed Samah was arrested while he was wearing the media pass, and he had gone to the protesting crowd to fix an issue that had occurred with their live feed coverage of the protest.
However, MJA's statement said the police had accused Samah of disrupting public transport and encouraging more people to participate in the protests.
Samah was arrested during a protest held by the opposition in Malé on January 8. He was released the following day with the condition that he has to stay at his residence between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. every day for 30 days.
According to the MJA, this has prevented Samah from carrying out his journalistic duties. They said he was denied permission when he applied to go to his job at night.
"Therefore, this organisation calls for the immediate lifting of this detainment, which restricts the functioning of the press," it said.
The statement also said they received complaints of police discrimination against journalists from Channel 13, who had been going to cover opposition protests.
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