The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has formed the interim executive committee of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission under the new legislation to limit freedom of expression in the Maldives.
CSC Chairperson Mohamed Mujthaba told Adhadhu that the interim committee was formed today. The members of the committee are:
- Ali Zaki, Director General of Sports Ministry
- Ahmed Maumoon, Director General of Local Government Ministry
- Aminath Naseer, Director General of Islamic Ministry
- Aminath Shahida, Director General of Economic Ministry
- Imad Mohammed, Chief Corporate Executive of National Archives
The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the committee shall be determined by a vote among the members. It is unclear whether the vote was taken and the committee heads elected.
Under the new law, the interim committee will be able to decide on cases submitted to the commission and issue licenses to newly established media outlets until the commission members are elected and appointed.
However, the interim commission cannot decide on revoking media licenses and continue cases initiated by the former Maldives Media Council (MMC) and Maldives Broadcasting Commission (Broadcom).
The commission will have the power to regulate social media, and hefty fines can be imposed on media outlets. But a provision which allowed fines on individual journalists was removed from the bill.
The bill sets out the rules for media ethics and empowers the commission to determine what information endangers public interest.
