Civil Court has concluded hearings in private broadcaster Raajje Television’s case to receive damages from the state for an ‘arbitrary’ fine of MVR 500,000.
Both the Broadcasting Commission and RaajjeTV were given the opportunity to give their statements at the last hearing of the case, held on Wednesday.
The broadcasting commission stated in their defense that they had looked into the matter thoroughly and rightfully.
Also at the last hearing, Mohamed Nishan Ibrahim, RaajjeTV’s attorney said that the commission had fined RaajjeTV unlawfuly and that the constitution does not give the commission the power to conduct investigations. He also said that the commission had failed to follow due procedure in investigating the case.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the defendant had also appealed at court to nullify the commission's fine.
The judge asked the plaintiff what they think of the fines following the nullification of the Anti-Defamation Act. Broadcom responded that it stands firm with its initial decision.
The fine was imposed over Thimarafushi constituency MP Mohamed Musthafa’s comments in an interview he gave to RaajjeTV on July 28th, 2017.
RaajjeTV has fined MVR 500,000 after initiating public fundraising drives and has since filed suit at the Civil Court against Broadcom which had repeatedly imposed hefty fines on claims of slander and threats of national security, citing the anti-defamation law that has now been repealed.
RaajjeTV in October released a statement asserting that the penalty levied by Broadcom was aimed at eliminating the free media in the Maldives.
RaajjeTV’s Managing Director Ahmed Saleem has said that any compensation received in its claim for damages will be given to charity, specifically ‘special needs’ aid initiatives. 
PRESSRELEASE:RaajjeTV views that the MVR500,000 penalty levied by the MBC on the station was aimed at eliminating free media in the Maldives pic.twitter.com/NoIMU3BoiY
 
Want to share a story with raajje.mv? email us at [email protected] or call (+960) 9110099