Reporter who attended Chikaa’s trial assaulted by gang

A reporter who attended the hearing of Ibrahim Naafiz (Chikaa) on Tuesday was assaulted by some gang members as he was going back to office after the trial. Chikaa is on trial facing drug possession charges and for being in possession of a deadly weapon.

The reporter from Minivan News, Ismail Hassan, said on Wednesday that he was not really sure why the group had attacked him but that he had received various threats on previous occasions. He was assaulted on Aaburuzu Magu, he said, while on the way home from the trial.

According to Ismail, there were around six men in the group that attacked him and they were all on motorcycles. He said that one of the riders had crashed his motorcycle into Ismail and then the others had rushed in started beating him up. Ismail however escaped with no injuries.

“I was on the way home from the trial when the man on the motorcycle crashed into me,” he said. “Then several people from all around rushed over and began beating me. There were some people in the area who were trying to stop them. At that moment I ran away and they even chased me but I was saved when another motorcycle got between me and them.”

Ismail said that he had reported the attack to the Maldives Media Association.

Another reporter from Miadhu News was also confronted by a group of people and given a warning. The reporter said that they had said that “he published lies” and warned that he would be beaten up.

The groups that had conducted organized attacks and been responsible for the serial violence that had occurred in Male’ a few months back had held a press conference recently in which they had promised an end to the violence.