Registration status of Minivan News brought into question

The ownership and registration status of the online newspaper Minivan News has been brought into question.

Islamic Ministry has submitted a case to the Maldives Media Council requesting the investigation of an issue relating to comments published on Minivan News articles using the pen name comprising of the character specifically used to denote the name of Allah.

President of the Maldives Media Council Ibrahim Khaleel said in an interview to Sun Online that Nazim Abdul Sattar of G. Keneryge has been summoned and questioned by the council. The newspaper was registered under Sattar’s name with the former Ministry of Information.

Khaleel said that the newspaper is not currently being managed by Sattar and that the issue is under investigation with the cooperation of other relevant authorities.

“We are currently investigating the issue. The person registered as the editor of the newspaper (Nazim Abdul Sattar) has been summoned and questioned by the council. The paper however, does not currently function under his editorship. We are currently trying to find out, with the cooperation with other relevant authorities, who currently runs the paper,” said Khaleel.

Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Sun Online that an unknown person has been commenting on the Minivan News articles under a pen name which includes the character specified to represent Allah and that an issue regarding the publication of these comments by the website has been reported to the Maldives Media Council last week.

“Somebody has been commenting on the newspaper [Minivan News] with the character [specifically used to represent Allah]. These comments are published on the newspaper. Nobody can comment using Allah’s name if the media is registered in this country,” said the Minister.

In an interview to Sun Online, the editor of Minivan News J J Robinson said that he runs the newspaper now and that the paper was stopped after former president Nasheed took office, and that the paper has since been operated with the cooperation of international sources.

Regarding the issue currently being investigated, JJ said that the police, in relation to a cybercrime investigation, had inquired about the identity of the person who submitted these comments and that some of these comments have now been removed. He said that he has not yet been summoned by the Maldives Media Council.

JJ said that he is currently working in the Maldives under a work visa obtained under a company named Web News Company. He did not however say who the company is registered under.

Islamic Ministry has also submitted the case to the Maldives Communication Authority. Adhaalath Party and Jamiyyathul Salaf have also raised the issue to the relevant authorities.