Fiyaz acquitted

Criminal Court has acquitted the Chief Operating Officer of Raajje TV, Hussain Fiyaz Moosa, of the charges brought forth against him by the state.

The state accused him of obstructing police duties on the night of 2 November 2015 by hitting an officer on the chest while the authorities were working on disarming an IED found near the Presidential residence.

Judge Adam Aarif made the ruling today by saying that the testimonies from the three police officers and the defence witnesses does not match.

While charges were brought forth with claims that Fiyaz hit the chest of Police Corporal, Mohamed Shaahin, officer Shaahin and two others officers testified in court. Both said that Fiyaz hit Corporal Shaahin in a manner that pushed him off. But Fiyaz presented witnesses against the claim.

The defence witnesses summoned to the court were three journalists of Raajje TV, Leevan Ali Naasir, Mohamed Visam and Murushid Abdul Hakeem. All three are confirmed to be at the scene on the date in question.

While Murushid said that a journalist in the area was attacked speaking on the Raajje TV live coverage that night, the verdict said that both Leevan and Visaam testified that Corporal Shaahin grabbed Fiyaz by the throat.

The verdict said that based on the testimonies, the charge against Fiyaz are not proven to the degree allocated in Article 51-G of the Constitution. And while Fiyaz went to the scene as a journalist, the journalistic freedom is guaranteed by Articles 28 and 29 of the Constitution and accommodating those rights is a responsibility of the government.