Maldivian crisis : TV station shuts down after threats

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Feb 9, 2018
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A privately owned television station in the Maldives according to media reprts has gone off the air because of threats as the country's current state of emergency deepens.

Rajje TV, which highlights views of the political opposition, according to Maldivian media reports which quoted a statement by the organisation on Friday said it stopped broadcasting because the country's environment did not allow journalists to report freely and independently. It said a mob had gathered at the station and called for it to be burned down, and government lawmakers had asked the broadcasting regulator to shut the station.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom declared a state of emergency after the Supreme Court ordered the release and retrial of his political opponents. The order has since been reversed.

Rajje TV was burned down ahead of the 2013 presidential election.