Fayyaz says media law used to control public expression

Former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairman Fayyaz Ismail on Sunday criticised the Media and Broadcasting Commission over its notices related to a cartoon published by the online newspaper Adhadhu, saying the commission does not have the authority to control public expression.

The commission is investigating a cartoon published on Thursday morning in the newspaper’s political cartoon segment. The cartoon shows people in a prayer congregation and a man with a long nose stealing money from the pocket of an imam.

The commission has said it is examining the content on the grounds that it appears to link prostration, an act of worship in Islam, with fraud.

On Sunday, the commission first issued a notice asking the public not to circulate the cartoon. That notice was later withdrawn, and a second notice was issued directing media outlets not to circulate the content.

Commenting on the matter, Fayyaz said the sequence of notices showed that the government had misled the public when it said the new media law would not apply to social media.

“It has become clear today that the law is being used to control the public. The commission does not have the power to issue a notice to all citizens,” he said.

Fayyaz, who has announced his intention to contest the next presidential election, said freedom of expression and media freedom were being restricted.

“Any law that limits a fundamental right is invalid. Orders that are unconstitutional should not be followed,” he said.

He added that citizens should not be expected to accept controls over what they say, write, draw or publish.

“This declaration is unconstitutional,” he said.