Ismail Khilath Rasheed
Ismail Khilath Rasheed (also known as Hilath) is a Maldivian blogger known for his support of religious tolerance and his involvement in several national controversies. Reporters Without Borders has described him as a "leading journalist" and "one of his country’s leading free speech advocates". Background Rasheed worked for a time as the youngest acting editor of the Maldivian newspaper Haveeru. Haveeru Daily was the longest serving and highest circulated news paper since its inception and removed from operation by a Court order in 2016. Hilath came to national attention in early 2010, when he was charged by the government with atheism, drug use, and homosexuality, allegedly in retaliation for his human rights reporting. He also received several death threats, and material appeared on Maldivian websites calling for his beheading, leading the Maldives Journalist Association to offer a statement in his support. Blog closing In November 2011, his website, www.hilath.com, was shut down by Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the grounds that the site contained "anti-Islamic material". Islam is the only legal religion for Maldivian nationals under the 2008 Maldives Constitution, with Sunni Islam predominant. Rasheed defended his blog as