MJA condemns exclusion of media outlets from presidential briefing

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) on Monday condemned the decision to invite only selected media outlets to a press meeting with President Mohamed Muizzu, saying it restricted press freedom and public access to information.

Presidential press briefings are usually announced through the President’s Office’s official media WhatsApp group. No announcement was sent to the group for Monday’s meeting, scheduled for 1pm. Invitations were instead sent individually to selected outlets.

In a statement, the MJA said it had received complaints about the exclusion of outlets that operated professionally and had substantial readerships.

The association said the decision obstructed journalism and limited the dissemination of information from the President’s Office to the public.

“We condemn this in the strongest terms and call on the President’s Office to treat all media outlets equally when providing information in future,” the statement said.

The meeting followed a dispute between the President’s Office and Dhauru over the newspaper’s reporting on remarks made by government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef at a press briefing on Saturday.

Dhauru published a report on Sunday examining the accuracy of his remarks after speaking to other people whose accounts contradicted them.

The President’s Office subsequently issued a statement on its website describing Dhauru’s report as inaccurate.