Additional case against Mandhy and Fayyaz over remarks about President’s son

An additional case has been filed against main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s activist Mariyam ‘Mandhy’ Zubair and the party’s chairperson Fayyaz Ismail, this time with the Family Court, accusing both individuals of infringing the dignity and rights of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s son.

First Lady Sajidha Ahmed decided to pursue legal action against Mandhy over remarks she made during an MDP rally back in March, suggesting that President Muizzu decided to ban vaping in Maldives last year because his 16-year-old son got caught vaping.

On Wednesday, the First Lady’s lawyer, former attorney general Aishath Azima Shakoor released a statement providing the latest updates regarding the cases filed with Family Court and Civil Court on behalf of the First Lady, accusing both individuals of creating a situation that endangered the life of her son.

Azima said the cases submitted to both courts have been registered as of present. The cases involve two charges against Mandhy and two charges against MDP and Fayyaz.

In this regard, she detailed that the Civil Court case pertains to infringement of the right to good name and dignity under the constitution while the Family Court pertains to the infringement of dignity and protection guaranteed for children under the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The cases were filed with the purpose cases to ensure that the right to dignity and protection guaranteed to children by the constitution and laws cannot be infringed, even through political opposition and rivalry, and to protect children from efforts to subject their education, future and selves to bullying, harassment and endangerment,” the statement read.

Prior to this, Azima told reporters that Sajidha will be filing lawsuits against Mandhy, as well as MDP’s chairperson Fayyaz Ismail and the MDP itself, as the remarks were made during an MDP rally, and thus, it is believed MDP has a legal liability. Meanwhile, Fayyaz was being sued over a post he wrote on the social media platform X, she added. 

MDP has insisted that the remarks made at the rally were not targeted at a child.

Both the Elections Commission (EC) and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) have condemned the remarks made at the rally.