[2] In November 2011, the blog of journalist Ismail Khilath Rasheed 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".
[3] Rasheed, a self-professed Sufi Muslim, had argued for greater religious tolerance.
[4] The blog closing was condemned by Reporters Without Borders[5] and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay[6] as representing a rise in religious intolerance.
[4] He was subsequently arrested at the urging of the orthodox Sunni Adhaalath Party,[7] which also organized a counter-demonstration on 23 December to protect Islam.
Rasheed was released on 10 January following protests by groups such as Amnesty International (which named him a prisoner of conscience[4]) and Reporters Without Borders[7] on his behalf.