The scholars' silence regarding the criticism of a person: Is it an endorsement?

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: If some scholars speak out against a person by criticizing him, and the others remain silent, does this indicate their endorsement of his criticism?

Answer:
It is not permissible for a sound scholar to speak out against people by criticizing them; he should fear Allah and not criticize people. As for the scholar who goes around picking out people's faults, he has more faults than they do. One does not criticize people unless he has more faults than they do. Take this as a rule: the Muslim guards his tongue from speaking about people, and he does not issue rulings about people. It is not permissible to remain silent; he should advise him to leave people alone and not speak about them. Yes. If the matter is brought to the judge or the authority, and it is said, "So-and-so does not pray," or "So-and-so does such-and-such," so that he can be held accountable, this is not backbiting. But if, in gatherings, people other than me are making light of people's reputations, that is not permissible. Yes.