Social media talk show host, Mikhil Rodrigues also known as the “Guyanese Critic” and the “They Break News” entity was on Thursday ordered by the High Court to pay $52 million to businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed in relation to a defamation case filed against him.
The ruling was handed down by Justice Nigel Niles who ordered Rodrigues and his “They Break News” company to pay damages totaling $22.5 million along with punitive damages of $3.5 million each to the businessmen.
In breaking down the payments, Rodrigues has to pay $7.5 million for defamation committed on February 17, 2024, another $7.5 million for defamation committed on March 1, 2024, and a further $7.5 million for defamation committed on March 14, 2024.
Rodrigues and his company were also ordered to pay the Mohameds $250,000 each in court costs.
Further, the Judge also granted a permanent injunction, restraining Rodrigues and “They Break News”, whether by themselves, their servants, and or agents from uttering, repeating, posting, printing, publishing, sharing, reproducing, broadcasting, or otherwise disseminating either by video, audio broadcast, print, social media, or by other electronic means, the offending words, utterances, statements and publications of words, utterances statements or publications similar to those made in the offending broadcasts.
It was reported that the Mohameds had filed a $200 million defamation lawsuit against Rodrigues and “They Break News” through their Attorneys Poonai and Poonai.
The lawsuit pointed out that on February 17, 2024, and on March 1, and 14, Rodrigues defamed the Mohameds through Facebook programmes where he publicly uttered and broadcasted several untrue and defamatory statements about the businessmen.
The lawyers further stated that the statements and accusations against the Mohameds are patently untrue without justification, misleading, and defamatory and have caused injury and significant harm to Nazar and his son Azruddin, their good name, reputation and has lowered their name in the minds of right-thinking members of society.
“In your broadcast you introduce yourself as the realest thing. Despite this, it seems you have a propensity for disseminating blatantly untrue, libelous and fictitious statements without lawful basis or justification that in their natural and ordinary meaning and by way of innuendo, are defamatory to my client and his reputation,” the letter stated.
“Further you hold yourself out as a Critic, yet none of your statements are valid or constructive criticism at all. Simply put none of your statements are real no matter the decibel you speak and the amount of times you repeat or the amount of vitriol and hate you heap upon my client, his son and family.”
As such, Poonai and Poonai demanded that Rodrigues cease making or repeating the defamatory statements made against the Mohameds.
