Strangulation by bureaucracy: the Maldivian case

In the run up to its presidential election on 23 September 2018, the Maldivian authorities have found an efficient system of controlling media coverage of the event. It's not just the regular, run-of-the-mill censorship through denial of visas and accreditation, but an extremely efficient method involving a prolonged and complex process of providing accreditation and visas.

This new method is preferred by a variety of authorities, ranging from the autocratic and authoritarian to more benign governments, to control critical media. We ourselves have been beneficiaries of this new trope – when we were forced to suspend publication in Nepal – and have termed it 'strangulation by bureaucracy'. Remember, you heard it here first!