Shahindha Ismail

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2018-071-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2018
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 3.202778

Longitude: 73.22068

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Maldives
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
Dates of prior UN action
20 April 2018
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Female
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

Maldivian Democracy Network

Type of rights defended
  • Religious freedom
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

for having participated in a side event at the 35th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2017

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Human Rights Council: UN Human Rights Council - General
Dates of engagement
June 2017
Type of attempted engagement
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
Dates of mentioned reprisals
2 April 2018
Reprisal information

police summoned Ms. Ismail to question her for criticising Islam “with the intention to cause disregard for Islam” under Section 617 (a) 1 and 2 of the Penal Code, which prescribes up to four months and 24 days of imprisonment for first time offenders. She was also accused by the police of attempting to “disrupt the religious unity and create religious discord in the Maldives” through Twitter. Ms. Ismail has categorically denied the accusation. Ms. Ismail has been, and continues to be, subject to online threats and online gender-based violence, including rape threats. A Twitter account has repeatedly tweeted to Ms Ismail saying that they would rape her and violently harm her if they saw her on the road.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Online harassment
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Both state and non-state actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Government response dates
23 July 2018
Government response content

confirmed that the Maldives police service launched a criminal investigation against Ms Ismail for allegations of attempting to disrupt the religious unit of the citizens of Maldives and conversing and acting in a manner likely to cause religious segregation amongst the people. After completing the investigation, the police forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s office where the Office determined that they could not find enough grounds to pursue a criminal charge against Ms Ismail or to have the charge proven in a court of law. The case has since been filed by the police. With regard to the allegations of death threats and intimidation through social media, a police investigation is ongoing and the case is being treated as serious, but the investigation is facing difficulties in obtaining the information because the Facebook and Twitter accounts were fake. The Government also reported that Ms Ismail is no longer being provided with personal security services by the Internal Security Command of the Maldives Police Service pursuant to her request in writing of 11 March 2018.

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
2
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2021
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. The case of human rights organization Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) was included in the 2018 report of the Secretary-General196 on allegations of an investigation following participation by its members in an NGO side event in the margins of the June 2017 Human Rights Council, and for the exercise of their freedom of expression on Twitter (MDV 3/2018).197 Some of the below updates on the situation of the MDN and its members were not reported previously due to fear of further retaliation at the time.
  2. On 7 November 2019, special procedures mandate holders addressed the Government’s decision to dissolve the MDN following the 2016 publication of a report on radicalization on its website. They also raised concern about the online harassment, intimidation, threats and death threats against its members, including Ms. Shahindha Ismail, Ms. Azra Naseem, and Mr. Mushfiq Mohamed (MDV 1/2019). On 15 January 2020, the Government responded, stating that the decision to dissolve the NGO was not reached arbitrarily but after completion of due process, including a thorough and impartial investigation concluding that the report had content that intentionally sought to mock the tenets of Islam. The Government highlighted its renewed efforts in combatting religious extremism in its quest to maintain a modern liberal society while balancing religious values.198 According to information received by OHCHR, in August 2020, the MDN filed a suit against the reportedly arbitrary closing of its organization at the Maldives Civil Court. As of May 2021, the case was ongoing.
  3. It was reported to OHCHR that, following the MDN’s presentation of a joint submission to the November 2020 UPR of the Maldives,199 the NGO and some of its members were the target of another coordinated media and on-line vilification campaign, including threats. They were portrayed as “anti-Islamic”, “blasphemous”, “promoting extremist ideology”, and as a “threat to the nation”. Some posts contained threatening language such as “Blood is boiling...teeth are clenching...Fists are shaking”. Due to the continued serious threats, MDN’s members Ms. Shahindha Ismail, Ms. Azra Naseem, Mr. Mushfiq Mohamed and Mr. Leevan Sharif have relocated abroad.
Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Date of follow up 0
7 November 2019
Did the government respond? 0
Yes
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
  • UN Special Procedures: UN Special Procedures - General
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
2023
Follow up information provided in SG report 1
  1. According to information received by OHCHR, during the period Ms. Shahindha Ismail, Executive Director of MDN, faced undue challenges while seeking redress for MDN’s deregistration and subsequent seizure of bank accounts. On 19 September 2022, Ms. Ismail filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court of Maldives contesting the freezing of MDN’s bank accounts and transfer of funds to an undisclosed location. On 9 November 2022, the Registrar of the court decided not to register the case. The Registrar noted that Ms. Ismail did not have the standing to file a lawsuit on the matter, that MDN was a legal entity and therefore it should be able to file lawsuits in its own capacity, disregarding the fact that MDN was deregistered in 2019. On 21 November 2022, an appeal was filed against the Registrar’s decision. As of the end of the reporting period, the case was still ongoing.
  2. On 28 March 2023, the Civil Court of Maldives ruled on a lawsuit that Ms. Ismail filed in 2020 against the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment claiming that MDN’s deregistration had been carried out without due process. The court ruled that thedecision of the Ministry was in line with applicable laws due to the content of the report MDN published in 2016, without addressing the claim on whether due process had been followed.110. As for the Civil Court’s decision of 28 March 2023 in the case of Ms. Shahidha Ismail against the Ministry of Youth Sports and Community Empowerment, the Government noted that the decision to dissolve MDN was reached after following due process as affirmed by the Civil Court and added that Ms. Shahindha Ismail appealed the decision on 3 July 2023.
Followup Trends 1
Deterioration/further reprisals
Did the government respond? 1
Yes