State asked to probe claim female journalists were humiliated

Adhaalath Party has called out for government to investigate allegations that female journalists arrested from the media freedom demonstration on Sunday were humiliated while under arrest.

Journalists arrested from the demonstration have expressed concern over what took place while they were under arrest.

They have said that female journalists were strip searched twice within a time frame of 20 minutes. Alleging that it was a deliberate attempt to humiliate them.

Adhaalath Party called out for relevant authorities to investigate the allegations, and bring culprits to justice, in a tweet sent out via their official Twitter account on Monday night.

Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) had said earlier that they had asked Maldives Police Service not to do strip searches unless absolutely necessary. Adding that only officers with specialized training and permission to do strip searches do it if absolutely necessary.

HRCM had stressed that strip searches took away human dignity and was a violation of basic human rights.

Police arrested 19 journalists from the media freedom demonstration during the attempt to clear the area near President’s Office.

Those arrested include journalists from Haveeru, RajjeTV, SanguTV, Maldives Independent, and a journalist from V News.

They were all released within 24 hours.