The Mihaaru team pictured during the launching ceremony in May. MIHAARU PHOTO
It was a routine day at work for the staff of the newly launched newspaper Mihaaru when they first heard of arguably the most controversial court ruling to date.
Civil Court had concluded a legal dispute over the ownership of the country’s oldest newspaper Haveeru and associated media, barring all employees of Haveeru Media Group from working at any media outlet in the country for two years.
The verdict has effectively shuttered the Mihaaru newspaper launched by the staff following the forced closure of Haveeru.
Maldives Constitution – Article 25. (a) No one shall be held in slavery or servitude, or be required to perform forced labour.
The innocent staff were suddenly plunged into the crossfire between the ongoing battle against the government for the survival of critical and independent media in the archipelago.
Mihaaru boasts several award winning journalists who have been in the media all their lives.
“This really was a shocking verdict,” senior assistant editor Ahmed Hamdhoon who recently won the national journalism award said.
“There has always been criticism of court verdicts. But I’ve never heard of such injustice before.”
Reporters pictured at work in Mihaaru newsroom. MIHAARU FILE PHOTO
Ahmed Abdulla Saeed is a senior assistant editor and a licensed lawyer who described the verdict as a new low for the country’s already beleaguered judiciary.
“This verdict is quite absurd, has no basis and is in clear violation of the constitution,” Saeed said.
Young Asima Nizar fulfilled her life long dream of working in the media after leaving her birth island and family behind to move to the capital Male.
But now the hapless 19 year old cannot even fathom what her next move would be.
“I should have the right to chose my own career path. But that has been taken from me.”
All employees of Mihaaru echoes the same grievance.
They all refuse to believe that their constitutional right to employment, a right to a livelihood can be seized, even by a court of law.
“I did not sign a contract with Haveeru that bars me from working for any other media outlet if I chose to leave or if I get fired. There was no such clause in that contract,” Mihaaru’s marketing manager Shamoon Afeef exclaimed.
Senior Assistant Editor Asiyath Mohamed Saeed has only one question on her mind. Where does she go from here to get an income to support her young family?
Maldives Constitution – Article 37. (a) Every citizen has the right to engage in any employment or occupation.
“This is pure injustice. All my educational qualifications are from this field. It would be near impossible for me to find a job from any other field,” the mother of a six month old baby girl retorted.
The blatant violation of a civil right has clearly left all the 50 staff of Mihaaru shell shocked throwing their immediate future into uncertainty.
The only glimmer of hope for them was a statement made by the attorney general who said the state authorities would not be able to enforce the court order in violation of the constitution.
But that was rather short-lived. In a fresh ruling, the civil court has nullified the AG’s statement.
“All state institutions are obligated to comply and immediately enforce a court ruling until it is overruled by a higher court,” the ruling read.
After being forced to suffer through the sudden closure of Haveeru, its staff had struggled against all odds to establish another independent newspaper.
But despite the fresh setback and seemingly endless barrage of obstacles to free media, the Mihaaru staff’s remains resolute.
“No one can put a lock on our pens. No one can silence us.”