No, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu Was Not Attacked Inside the Parliament

The people in the video are Maldivian MPs Shaheem Abdul Hakeem and Ahmed Easa, not President Mohamed Muizzu.

Fact-Check: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu was not attacked inside the parliament.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint) 

A video of a scuffle is being shared with the claim that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu was attacked inside the parliament by the members.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

Is this true?: The claim is false.

• The individual assaulted in the footage is MP Shaheem Abdul Hakeem, not Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. He was attacked by MP Ahmed Easa

• The altercation occurred on 28 January, stemming from a dispute over the selection of new cabinet members in the parliament.

How did we find out?: At first, we divided the video into multiple keyframes and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across a post on X by Malsha Shareef, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Art of the Maldives.

• She posted a similar video on her account on 28 January.

• The caption accompanying the video read as, "MDP’s parliament member @MPahmedeasa is seen kneeling on MP Shaheem’s neck while he struggles to breathe."

• She added that it was a "deliberate attempt" to hurt Shaheem, who "could have died."

• The caption read that the Esa "has a long history of violence," amongst other things.

Here is a comparison between the two frames. 

Why did the fight break out?: Taking a hint from this, we ran a relevant keyword search and came across news reports about this incident.

• According to a report by Al Jazeera from 29 January, the arguments began during a meeting convened to obtain parliamentary approval for four of President Mohamed Muizzu's cabinet ministers.

• The opposition members of parliament objected to the government's strategies, resulting in a physical altercation.

• Maldivian news organisation SunOnline wrote on 28 January that MP Shaheem thrown to the ground, resulting in a head laceration.

• Amid the turmoil, the opposition - the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – which has the majority in Parliament, has collected sufficient signatures to present a motion for the impeachment of President Mohamed Muizzu, SunOnline said in another report on 29 January.

Conclusion: It is clear that the person being assaulted in the viral video is not President Muizzu, but MP Shaheem.

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