Police file complain against Raajje TV

The Maldives Police Service has filed a complaint with the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) again for spreading unfounded information and news about the police.

Hassan Haneef, Police Media Official, said today that the complaint was lodged because of Raajje TV’s repeated attempts to defame the nation’s police officers by broadcasting outright lies.

Haneef also said that the complaint included a specific request to take appropriate action against Ibrahim Waheed, a Raajje TV journalist, for making untrue and unfounded statements against the police during his live coverage of the protests staged in Malé on the 29th of last month.

The Police had earlier filed a similar complaint at the MBC against Raajje TV. At that time, the complaint was a response to a news-piece broadcast on Raajje TV claiming that a group of police officers “were seen stealing patrol from a parked motorbike”. Raajje TV showed a video footage apparently substantiating the news-piece, which was revealed to be a scene in which police officers intervened when the real culprit was doing the act in question.

In response to the complained lodged by the Police previously, MBC ordered Raajje TV to make a public apology and warned that any further violations of the Broadcasting Act would entail strict penal measures.

The Maldives Police Service has recently stopped “co-operating with Raajje TV” for its continued and “outrageous attempts to defame the Police service”.