The Civil Court has ruled that there was nothing wrong with the dissolution of the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN).
The Maldives government dissolved the MDN over a blasphemous report titled the "Preliminary Assessment of Radicalization in Maldives" submitted to the UN by MDN that insulted Islam and the Holy Prophet. The police investigated the report and informed the Youth Ministry that the MDN report indeed had content that insulted religion and the Prophet.
The Youth Ministry decided to dissolve the MDN on November 5, 2019, based on the police investigation. However, the government officially announced the dissolution of the MDN on December 19, 2019.
Following MDN's dissolution, one of the founders of the MDN, Shahindha Ismail, filed a case in the Civil Court challenging the decision.
The Civil Court on Tuesday ruled that the Registrar of Associations decided to dissolve the MDN under the powers of the Registrar after completing the procedures stipulated in the Associations Act. The court also ruled that the MDN report contained anti-Islamic statements.
Although the MDN has been dissolved, no action has been taken against those who wrote the report to date. The association continues to issue statements challenging the government's decision.
