Male, Maldives – After Maldives News Network (MNN) shared fabrications about Maldivian First Lady Mariyam Fazna, her lawyer has asked for the organization to issue a public apology.
The First Lady’s lawyer, in a letter addressed to Maldives Media Council (MCC), said that the “peaceful option” is for MNN to publicly apologize to the first lady.
The letter stated that, after MNN published an article with blatant lies about the first lady, they later amended this in a footnote- which said that the information about Fazna Ahmed is unverified. This action is insufficient according to the lawyer.
Madam Fazna’s lawyer added that the publication violates the 23rd amendment of the Maldives Media Council, which states that no media outlets should share the information if it is confirmed a lie or thought to be untrue. The law also states that information received by media, with opportunities to verify, should not be published without verification.
The letter demanded that Madam Fazna’s picture, and information be removed from the false MNN article, and requested MNN issue a public apology.
