Prosecutor General’s Office has returned the case against Deputy CEO of Raajje TV Abdulla Yameen and the channel's News Head Ibrahim Waheed (Aswad) after stating that it was “not fit for prosecution.”
Police sought prosecution after investigating a news report named “Magey report” (My report) broadcast on Raajje TV on 19 October 2013, criticizing the Maldivian judiciary.
“It has been decided that [the case against] Ibrahim Waheed and Abdulla Yameen is not fit for prosecution and the police have been notified,” an official from the Prosecutor General’s Office said.
The official said the Maldives Broadcasting Commission has taken the necessary steps to reprimand the station and that the case does not warrant a criminal prosecution. Maldives Broadcasting Commission on Sunday informed the complainant, the Supreme Court, that the commission has ordered Raajje TV’s parent company Raajje Television Pvt Ltd to issue a statement of apology and broadcast the statement between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on 25 December 2013.
Investigation of the case by the police was also ordered by the Supreme Court.
After being summoned by the police, Yameen said that the police did not say if he was suspect, but had directed questions mainly of suspicions against Aswaad.
Summoned to the police, Aswaad gave a statement regarding his right to remain silent. He later said that such cases should be investigated by the Broadcasting Commission and not the police.
In its report, Raajje TV had liked the decisions of the Maldives judiciary to that of the judicial practices that were employed by the people of Sodom.