The local Sheikh seeking MVR28 million from four journalists for defamation following their coverage over an alleged Hajj pilgrimage scam has decided to withdraw the lawsuit.
Sheikh Nasrulla Musthafa who had recently stepped down as the Arabiyya School principal had originally sued five journalists from local newspaper 'Mihaaru'.
Nasrullah was arrested in November over his alleged involvement in a scam that saw four people sent to Mecca without any arrangements for their pilgrimage.
The four were stranded in Saudi Arabia before the state-run Hajj Corporation stepped in. Nasrulla is now suing each of the four journalists for MVR7 million each claiming defamation for various articles reporting the incident.
During the second hearing of the dispute resolution stage, Nasrulla had informed the court of his decision to withdraw the lawsuit saying that the "truth" behind the incident had now come out. He also said 'Mihaaru' journalists were now reporting the incident "truthfully" and there was now need to take the lawsuit any further.
