PSM denies political motive in photographer’s termination

Public Service Media (PSM) Deputy Managing Director Yameen Rasheed has denied allegations that a photographer was dismissed from the company due to expressing political views on social media.

Raif Yusuf, who had been working as a photographer at PSM, was dismissed on Tuesday. He claims the dismissal followed comments he made on Facebook regarding former deputy ministers Maryam Shiuna and Malsha Shareef, who had recently resigned following an eight-month suspension from the Ministry of Youth.

Raif stated that the issue began when he commented on a Sun Online Facebook post quoting PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah, who said the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had caused more harm to Maldives than the Iran war. In response, Raif commented: “What is the damage to the country's tourism by putting Shiuna and Malsha in India and doing it on social media? I just asked.”

Raif said he later received a call from PSM newsroom officials regarding the comment. He deleted the post after learning there was concern over it. He was subsequently summoned to the Human Resources (HR) department, where he was shown a printout of the deleted comment. According to Raif, HR cited PSM’s internal rules against the public expression of political views.

Although he said the comment did not constitute a political statement, Raif claims he was verbally advised not to repeat such behaviour. He said he later commented “Everything will come to an end” on a post by religious scholar Ali Rameez. This was not officially addressed by HR but was discussed among newsroom staff.

Raif alleges he was later denied entry to the newsroom and was not assigned work. On Tuesday, he received a message instructing him to collect a dismissal letter, which cited incomplete probation as the reason. When he inquired further, he was told his dismissal was due to absence from the office, a claim Raif disputes.

“I believe he was cut because of those comments,” Raif told local media.

Responding to the allegations, PSM Deputy Managing Director Yameen Rasheed stated that the termination was not related to political views. “As part of the company’s policy, especially HR policies, the relevant department told him that he was neglecting his work on probation,” Yameen said.