Attorney General: Orders to dismiss police officers were defied

Maldives Police Service had defied orders by the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) to dismiss 6 police officers following the controversial change of power in 2012, Attorney General Mohamed Anil has said.

Speaking at a question session in parliament today, the Attorney General said that Police Integrity Commission received 45 cases following the change of power in February 2012, and that 9 of the cases were direct complaints against police officers.

The Attorney General said that the Police Integrity Commission, following their investigation of the brutal events in February 2012, had notified the Ministry of Home Affairs to dismiss the officers responsible for the events. Home Ministry had relayed the order to the Maldives Police Service, following which the Police Disciplinary Committee, after an investigation of their own, had decided to dismiss a single officer, Anil said.

He said that Police Disciplinary Committee had said that it did not have enough evidence to dismiss the remaining five offices who were deemed unfit for duty by the Police Integrity Commission. The committee also decided to make a decision on the termination of the officers if they were convicted in court. However, four of the officers were allowed to stay active in front line duties, and later changed to different departments, the Attorney General said.

Anil said that cases against the six police officers were forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office, and that four of the officers have been indicted with criminal charges. Case against one of these officers has now been appealed in High Court, the Attorney General said.

The Attorney General, speaking at Parliament today, said that it is important to take action against the police officers who have had serious allegations of brutal conduct against them in the final report complied by the Commission of National Inquiry.