Parliamentary group leader for the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Villimale MP Ahmed Nihan on Tuesday declared that he would not pursue charges against any and all media outlets in the Maldives for publishing news about him, regardless of content.
Speaking at a PPM press conference, MP Nihan said that he maintains good relations with all major medias in the country. He added that he did not want to take any local journalists to court.
However, the ruling party leader also expressed concern about a local news published about him, alleging that he was a “thief”. The news had credited an unreliable Twitter account as its source, he claimed.
MP Nihan said that the news warranted defamation charges to be levied against the publisher; however, he assured he has no intentions of pursuing these charges. He advised all local media outlets to maintain professionalism and to be diligent in their work.
“They had specifically stated that I was a ‘thief’ in the news – that’s the exact word they used. But I did not take them to court, nor do I want to. I called up the editors of the news agency and told them, with respect, that they are being unethical and that the news is wrong,” the Villimale MP said.
Weighing in on the issue, PPM’s deputy leader and Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla said that President Abdullah Yameen’s administration has a lot of faith in local medias. He had, however, warned action against media outlets that do not adhere to the Constitution and advised them to work within the confines of it.
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