Parliament dismisses emergency motion on Abdulla death

The emergency motion submitted to the Parliament on Wednesday over the death of who passed away while in the custody of Maldives Police Service, has been dismissed.

Member of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP for Naifaru constituency Ahmed Shiyam filed the motion in question. He called for an independent investigation, and to reveal all the details pertaining to it.

“Abdulla Rasheed has said he was having chest pain while he was taken on to the speed boat from Hoadehdhoo. He begged to be taken to a doctor. But as nothing was done, and Abdulla Rasheed had died, there is reason to believe there was major negligence from Police.”

 He went on to note that information from various sources say that Police had treated Abdulla very poorly, and so he called on government authorities to conduct an independent investigation.

In the vote taken for the motion, 17 members voted to accept, while 22 voted to reject it.

Abdulla, who is the President of the Steering Committee of Hoadedhoo was arrested in a counter-drug operation from a café near the harbor of GDh. Hoadedhdhoo at approximately 02:15 pm Tuesday. Police hired a private speedboat to transport him to a facility. He died en route.

PPM has released a statement with a message of condolence on behalf of party leader former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and leadership to Abdulla’s family.

The statement also alleged that Police had acted irresponsibly in this case and condemned the incident.

The party had also called for a swift investigation that is independent and just, and to act against any found to be negligent.

Police revealed that both the National Integrity Commission and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives has been informed and requested further investigation as well.

In addition to this, it has been revealed that an autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death.

 Home Minister Imran Abdulla ordered an investigation into the death of the man who passed away whilst in police custody. He said that Police’s Professional Standards are probing this to identify any possible negligence. He also assured that he would not shy away from taking necessary actions against those implicated.

Some of the most recent updates given by Police stated that the officers who arrested Abdulla did not use body-worn cameras.

Meanwhile, Abdulla’s family alleges Police negligence to be the cause of his death. His family claim that the police dismissed his repeated complaints of chest pains as an ‘act’.

A member of the family who spoke with Sun said that Abdulla had no known health issues and wasn’t on any medication for a chronic illness.