The sentencing hearing of RaajjeTV's senior video journalist, Mohamed Wisam has been scheduled for Thursday, March 9 at the Criminal Court.
State raised obstruction charges against him on April 5, 2016, over an arrest made on March 25, 2015, while covering an opposition rally.
Denying the charges, Wisam presented four witnesses to Court, in order to prove his innocence. State presented two witnesses, and a video footage to prove the charges against him.
In the last hearing of the trial, held on January 31, the Court analyzed the video footage submitted against Wisam by the state, and summary charges were announced.
RaajjeTV's senior videographer, Adam Zareer was arrested with Wisam, and charged with obstruction as well. While Zareer's sentencing hearing was held on February 27, the Court found him guilty of obstruction, and sentenced him to pay a fine of MVR 3,000.
READ MORE: RTV’s Zareer found guilty, fined MVR 3,000
Criminal Court found Wisam guilty of a separate obstruction charge, on January 24, along with Leevaan Ali Nasir, over an arrest made while covering a bomb scare in the capital Male' City in November 2015. They were both fined MVR 28,800 each. They were found guilty of the charges on December 19, 2016. Prosecutors had requested the Court to sentence both journalists to four months and 24 days in jail, the maximum punishment.
READ MORE: RaajjeTV journalists fined by MVR 28,800
They have since filed an appeal at the High Court.
In addition, RaajjeTV’s COO, Hussain Fiyaz Moosa, who was arrested with Wisam and Leevaan, is charged with “touching an officer without consent”. At the last heaing of the case, held on February 2, the presiding judge, Adam Arif had announced that a verdict in the case will be issued before the end of February.
The station has dismissed the charges against its staff as “baseless in its entirety,” describing the arrests and subsequent charges as “an attack on press freedom and an attempt to impede, harass and psychologically torture RaajjeTV journalists, with the objective of halting its independent broadcasts.”
