The National Integrity Commission (NIC) has launched an investigation into the police's actions in dispersing a protest by journalists outside the parliament against the media control legislation.
The commission said in a post on X that it had launched an investigation into the police's actions following allegations circulating on social media that police used excessive force to disperse the demonstration.
Journalists and activists protested on September 16 as the government-controlled parliament passed the media control bill. Police brutally assaulted journalists during the peaceful demonstration.
Police knelt on protesters' heads, dragged them on the ground, injured their wrists and used other brutal methods, causing multiple injuries and damaging clothes and media property during the 12-hour-long protest.
Adhadhu journalist Leevan Ali Nasir and taxi driver Mohamed Shamin were arrested during the protest. Police refused to say whether they were arrested or to disclose their location. They were released on the same day due to public pressure.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) filed a complaint with the National Integrity Commission (NIC) against the police.
