''Maldives Independent'' is a news outlet which is based in Maldives. It was conceived in 2004 as Minivan News but was renamed to Maldives Independent in 2015.

History

The outlet was first named Minivan News ('Minivan' meaning Independent) founded by members of the

Maldivian Democratic Party The Maldivian Democratic Party (, ''Dhivehi Rayyithunge Demokretik Paati''; MDP) is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives. The party is supportive of the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives. It won ...

(MDP) on 29 November 2004. In 2014, the office of Minivan News was attacked following the disappearance of former journalist

Ahmed Rilwan Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla (; 18 January 1986 – 8 August 2014) was a Maldivian journalist, reporter and blogger who was abducted and killed in 2014. His disappearance received international recognition and sparked protests. Early life and education ...

, which was condemned by the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

(IFJ) along with

Maldives Journalists Association Maldives Journalists Association is a voluntary association that represents Maldivian journalists and news outlets as well as advocating for press freedom in the Maldives. History The association was formed on 1 April 2009. The association is p ...

(MJA). On 31 July 2015, Minivan News was renamed to the Maldives Independent. In 2016,

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

entered into the headquarters of the Maldives Independent, suspected to be related to the ''

Stealing Paradise ''Stealing Paradise'' is a 2016 Qatari English-language investigative documentary which exposed high-level corruption which involved former President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen and former Vice President of the Maldives Ahmed Adeeb, produced b ...

'' documentary by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

. In 2017, Maldives Independent was nominated for the Freedom of Expression Awards 2017 by the

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organisation campaigning for freedom of expression. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association wit ...

, where they won. In 2020, Maldives Independent suspended operations due to financial constrains and went on a five-year hiatus, where it re-launched in 2025.

External links

*
Minivan Daily website
*
Minivan News website
*
Maldives Independent
Newspapers established in 2005 Newspapers published in the Maldives English-language newspapers published in Asia

References

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