19 arrested in the Maldives during protest over press freedom

(Image credit: Twitter.com/VahkkahnYageen)

Journalists and activists in the Maldives who say the government is trying to restrict the press protested outside the president's office on Sunday, and 19 were detained and later released by authorities.

Police used pepper spray against the demonstrators, and said in a statement they broke the gathering up because some of the protesters had made their way to a protected area and scaled barricades. The activists say that President Yameen Abdul Gaymoon's ruling party is proposing a bill in parliament that would criminalize defamation, resulting in heavy fines and jail time. Activists are also accusing the government of having a hand in suspending the publication of the oldest newspaper in the Maldives, and barring media organizations from court reporting, The Associated Press reports. About 50 people attended the protest.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.