Family Court begins hearings in case against Mandhy

Family Court has today commenced hearings in the case submitted by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed against opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activist Mariyam Zubair (Mandhy).

The First Lady filed a case against Zubair regarding comments she made about President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha's son in an MDP rally. The case against Zubair accuses her of infringing upon the rights of a child, against the Child Protection Act and international conventions on child protection.

Today's hearing was held closed. Family Court hearings are generally not open to the public.

Relating the same issue, a case has also been filed against MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail. Hearings in this case have not yet commenced.

The First Lady also submitted defamation cases to the Civil Court regarding the same issue, again against Zubair and Fayyaz, as well as MDP itself. These cases also have not commenced as of yet.

Police are also conducting a related criminal investigation against Zubair and MDP National Council member Ahmed (Maaz) Saleem.