The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has denied allegations made by the judges of the Journalism Awards.
In a statement on Monday night, MMC said a document "purportedly signed" by the judges was deceiving.
MMC assured that there was no violation of rules and principles when deciding award winners in all of the categories.
Press release on September 28, 2023, did not target a specific news website!
MMC said the press release issued just days before the second round of last year's presidential election was not targeted at any particular news website or content.
However, the document signed by the judges falsely claimed that the press release was regarding the "Skeelan" documentary from Adhadhu.
"The press release was issued following complaints that some media outlets were publishing content that violated journalistic standards and targeting candidates during the presidential election. It was not aimed at a specific content published by a particular newspaper," MMC said.
Judges have the power to disqualify ineligible content
MMC said the judges were given the power to disqualify ineligible submissions to allow them to work independently.
Under Article 28(g) of the Journalism Awards Rules, only the panel of judges has the full power to declare a nomination ineligible and disqualify a nomination, MMC noted.
The panel of judges disqualified some of the nominations for the 11th Journalism Awards in the social and judicial categories.
"No concerns or complaints were raised by the judges until the awards were presented. Judge Mohamed Saleem, who spoke on behalf of the judges at the awards ceremony, praised the fairness of this year's awards," MMC added.
Judges did not question about "Skeelan" documentary or raise concerns about the marking rubric
MMC accused the judges of falsely claiming that the council did not respond responsibly to questions raised by the judges about the documentary.
The MMC statement stressed that the judges have the power to decide on the nominations and do not need to discuss with the council.
Judges accused there were issued with the marking rubric of the investigative journalism category, but no such concern was shared with the council.
"Rather, the judges’ report shared with this council after judging the journalism awards explains that the marking rubrics have been revised and enhanced in accordance with the advice given by the judges over the past year," the MMC said.
"Skeelan" documentary won the award from the marks signed by all the judges on the category panel and submitted to the council
MMC said the documentary "Skeelan" won the investigative journalism award in the video-audio category because it received enough marks as per the marks sheet signed by all the judges on the panel.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seized documents related to the points given to content submitted for the Journalism Awards after raiding the premises of the MMC on Monday.
Pro-government activists, government officials and ruling party MPs have spoken against the award given to Adhadhu's "Skeelan" documentary.
The documentary was produced about President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's stepmother, Gnei Skeelan, a Sri Lankan citizen, who was blacklisted and deported from the Maldives.
It won the award in the investigative journalism category. Following anger from those connected to the government, the MMC has decided to conduct an investigation and decide on withdrawing the award.
