The Family Court has given Mariyam “Mandhy” Zubair, a prominent activist of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), 15 days to respond to the lawsuit filed against her by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed.

The preliminary hearing of the case was held at the Family Court on Wednesday morning. After the preliminary hearing of the case filed against Mandhy under Article 24 (d) of Law No. 19/2019 (Child Rights Protection Act), Mandhy's lawyer Ibrahim Shiyan said that they have been given 15 days to respond to the case.

He noted that they need to respond to the case before May 15. The lawyer also said that they have been given the opportunity to submit any evidence from Mandhy's side within this period if they have any.

In addition to this, Shiyan said that they have questioned whether the Family Court has jurisdiction to hear the case. He also said that if they want to raise a question regarding this, they have been given the opportunity to submit a petition before May 15.

Speaking after the hearing, Mandhy said that this is a lawsuit filed with the intention of intimidating and pushing her back. However, she also said that the lawsuit will not push her back from MDP activities.

Mandhy further said that when the country’s first lady files a lawsuit against an ordinary citizen like this, there will be no way for the ordinary citizen to seek justice.

In addition to Mandhy, Sajidha filed lawsuits against MDP’s Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail and the party on April 13.

MDP has since expressed concern over the lawsuit, claiming that the charges are being filed at the behest of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu by his wife First Lady Sajidha Mohamed to silence voices speaking out against the president's authoritarianism and to intimidation tactics against political parties and figures.

MDP stated that President Muizzu aims to file charges against anyone who opposes him to silence their voices. They assured that despite charges being filed for political purposes using family as a shield, the party will continue to stand against President Muizzu's authoritarian rule without hesitation.