Oil attack and criminal probe heighten tensions in first family row
A digest of yesterday's top story.
Photo: Hussain Hassan on X
17 Mar, 9:00 AM
Good morning. We’re continuing to follow developments in the controversy surrounding allegations against the first family. In other news from Monday, the Met office warned of rising temperatures and HDC took over a stalled apartment construction project.
Political tensions surrounding the president’s family escalated yesterday as the opposition activist whose remarks sparked the controversy was doused in diesel or used engine oil by masked assailants on a motorbike. Earlier in the day, the senior Maldivian Democratic Party activist was placed under criminal investigation following a complaint by the Children’s Ombudsperson.
The police probe comes after First Lady Sajidha Mohamed decided to sue Mandhy over her claims at an MDP protest that the government banned vaping after the first couple’s teenage son was caught smoking.
Around 1am on Monday, two men wearing helmets approached on a motorbike and threw the oil at Mandhy’s face as she was driving home after the MDP’s nightly street protests.
“We believe that there is no protection or security for an MDP person under this government,” Mandy, mother of MDP MP Meekail Naseem, told the media.
A video taken in the immediate aftermath showed Mandhy soaked as police took photos of oil splattered on the motorbike and on the ground. A plastic bottle was collected as evidence.
The First Lady condemned the incident on Monday morning.
Earlier on Sunday, Mandhy was questioned by the police over alleged violations of the freedom of assembly law. She was among several MDP activists summoned for questioning since the main opposition party launched nightly demonstrations against the government’s disqualification of applicants chosen by the MDP government for social housing.
