The Muizzu government’s fear of criticism has taken a disturbing new turn this time, with the Maldives Police Service seizing the phone of MDP Hulhumalé North Constituency President Fathimath Zahiyya over a sarcastic Facebook post.
Her “crime”Writing on October 4 that she had “started preparing Kandoodhoo chilli spray for November 17” a clear jab at police brutality during the recent MDP rally. She added that “if they use pepper spray, I’ll spray them back,” tagging the Police Service in the post. Instead of recognising it as an expression of frustration, police obtained a court warrant and confiscated her phone, alleging a threat to officers.
This move follows the October 3 crackdown, when police used pepper spray indiscriminately and at close range, targeting thousands of peaceful demonstrators on Majeedhee Magu. Videos from that day showed officers spraying people’s faces at point-blank range including elderly citizens and women in what many described as one of the most brutal police actions in years.
What makes this incident even more outrageous is the double standard: while a known Muizzu supporter, Shuaib Ali, openly called on Facebook for demonstrators to be assaulted and shot, no action has been taken against him.
So much for “threats” being treated equally.
Intimidation disguised as investigation
MDP’s Legal Director Ahmed Mauroof called the phone seizure “an act of intimidation and harassment,” revealing that the case is bizarrely being investigated by the Robbery and Theft Department — as if a Facebook post now qualifies as grand larceny.
Meanwhile, former MP Ali Niyaz described Zahiyya as the “first victim of the media control law,” linking the action to the government’s wider campaign to silence dissenting voices and muzzle social media criticism.
Eema Shafeeg, Vice President of the MDP Women’s Wing, condemned the incident, writing that “the government refuses to take accountability for violence and harassment promoted by senior officials against opposition voices. Now we’re seeing it in action. Fear tactics won’t keep us silenced or oppressed.”
Across social media, outrage has been swift. Users, including MDP Women’s Wing’s official X handle, blasted the police for weaponising the law against an opposition woman leader while ignoring genuine calls for violence from government loyalists.
Selective justice under Muizzu
This is not law enforcement it’s political enforcement. The Muizzu administration, already accused of eroding democratic freedoms, now appears to be normalising the idea that satire or criticism against the police can be criminalised.
Every new week under this government seems to bring a fresh example of fear politics: journalists threatened, opposition protests violently dispersed, and now, a woman’s phone taken for speaking up.
What began as a Facebook post mocking police brutality has exposed a deeper truth this government’s fragile ego cannot withstand public scrutiny. Instead of confronting corruption, incompetence, and heavy-handed policing, Muizzu’s administration is choosing to hunt critics and silence dissent.
