Bibi Shariman Neshaw Ali, the mother of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, has filed multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Meta Platforms Inc., and social media personality Melissa Ann Atwell-Holder, alleging that she was subjected to a sustained and malicious campaign of false corruption claims that caused serious reputational and personal harm.
The Statement of Claim, filed on November 3, 2025, seeks damages totalling CA$15 million and extensive injunctive relief, including court orders to compel the removal of allegedly defamatory content and to restrain any further publication.
According to the court filing, the lawsuit arises from a series of Facebook posts and video broadcasts published from August 12, 2025, primarily on the Facebook pages operated by Atwell-Holder under the names “Melissa Ann Atwell (Melly Mel)” and “592 Media Inc.”
The plaintiff alleges that the broadcasts falsely accused her of accepting bribes, coercing contractors to pay kickbacks amounting to five per cent of contract values, acting on behalf of or in concert with the President of Guyana and being involved in criminal or organised criminal activity.
The claim states that the words used in the broadcasts were defamatory in their natural and ordinary meaning, as well as by implication and innuendo and conveyed the false impression that both Mrs. Ali and her son were corrupt.
The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the content would be widely republished and rebroadcast across Guyana, Canada, the United States and elsewhere, particularly given the political sensitivity of the allegations at the time.
The claim states that the republication of the content by various media outlets and online platforms was a predictable consequence of the original broadcasts and that the defendants are therefore jointly and severally liable for the further dissemination.
The court documents also reference a series of subsequent statements issued after the initial publications. On August 12, 2025, businessman Azeem Junior Baksh issued a public apology on Facebook in which he stated that the information he had provided during an interview concerning the President’s mother was false. In that statement, Baksh said he withdrew the allegations, apologised to Mrs. Ali and confirmed that he had never paid her any money nor conducted any business transactions with her.
On the same day, Satyamrine Sahadeo of VALS Construction issued a public statement denying any improper dealings with the President, his mother or anyone acting on their behalf, and categorically rejecting claims of corrupt payments or influence.
The claim further states that on August 16, 2025, journalist Travis Chase, who recorded the interview referenced in the broadcasts, publicly indicated that he had no information to substantiate the allegations made by Baksh, that he did not authorise the release of the interview, and that he was not pursuing the matter further.
According to the filing, neither Chase nor his employer, HGP Nightly News, published or broadcast the interview on any of their platforms.
Despite these statements, the lawsuit alleges that the defamatory content remained online and continued to circulate. The claim also references additional Facebook posts published on September 7, 2025, which allegedly escalated the attacks and included statements referring to Mrs. Ali as a “gangster granny” and asserting that she and the President were engaged in criminal activity.
According to the court filing, these later posts were made after legal correspondence had been sent requesting the removal of the content, and no apology or retraction was issued. The plaintiff alleges that the continued publications were reckless, malicious and intended to humiliate her and her son.
The Statement of Claim outlines Mrs. Ali’s professional background as a long-serving educator who worked for decades in Guyana’s education system and later continued her professional and community involvement in Canada.
It stated that the publications caused severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and reputational damage and that her children and grandchildren were also subjected to ridicule and harassment as a result of the online attacks.
In addition to Atwell-Holder, the lawsuit names Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook Holdings LLC, Facebook Operations LLC and Facebook Canada Ltd., alleging that the companies facilitated the dissemination and continued availability of the defamatory content despite being provided with corrective statements and denials.
The claim asserts that Meta failed to take reasonable steps to remove or restrict the material.
Mrs. Ali is seeking general, aggravated and punitive damages, declarations that the publications were defamatory, interim and permanent injunctions restraining further dissemination, orders compelling the removal and destruction of the content, as well as legal costs and interest.
