HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed is alleging that an attorney acting on behalf of President Irfaan Ali warned that his social media page could be suspended by Meta, days before several Facebook pages associated with Mohamed and his political movement were removed.
In a statement, Mohamed said his attorney, Siand Dhurjon, was contacted on October 3 by attorney Selwyn Pieters over a social media post concerning the alleged raid of a property belonging to Ernesto Choo.
According to Mohamed, when Dhurjon asked Pieters who he represented, Pieters responded: “His Excellency the President.” Mohamed further alleges that Pieters demanded the removal of comments he considered defamatory, particularly references to President Ali.
The statement quotes Pieters as saying: “If those defamatory comments are not removed, particularly the reference to His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, I will have to deal with this in the context of defamation.”
Pieters is further quoted as warning: “Mr. Mohamed cannot cry victimization if I am forced to have Meta suspend his page. Again.”
Mohamed said several Facebook pages associated with him and his movement were subsequently removed by Meta, including Team Mohamed’s, which he said had approximately 540,000 followers; We Invest in Nationhood, with approximately 40,000; and his Opposition Leader page, with approximately 59,000.
He is now attempting to draw a connection between the alleged warning and the subsequent removal of the pages.
However, the statement provides no evidence establishing that President Ali, Pieters or any government official caused Meta to remove the accounts.
Mohamed has nevertheless described the developments as an attempt to silence political opposition and has called the sequence of events “deeply troubling.”
“When those in power seek to silence the Opposition Leader because they object to what is being said, democracy itself is under threat,” Mohamed stated.
He said efforts are underway to restore the affected pages and that he will meanwhile communicate through another Facebook page with approximately 14,000 followers.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced or afraid,” Mohamed declared.
There has been no indication in the statement of Meta’s stated reason for removing the pages, and the allegations made by Mohamed against the President and his attorney have not been independently established.
