Suspect dies in detention, two days after arrest

A suspect died at a custodial jail in Male’ on Sunday, two days after he was arrested by the police.

Ahmed Afrah, 48, G. Zamia, K. Male’, was arrested by the police on Friday, in connection to a case under investigation by the Major Crimes Investigation Department.

According to police, he was found unresponsive in Cell 7 at the Atholhu Vehi, a custodial jail in Male’, at around 05:50 am Sunday.

The police took him to the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), which confirmed he was already deceased when taken there.

While the police did not disclose any details regarding the case linked to him, the Criminal Court order for his remand on Saturday shows Afrah was arrested in a drug abuse case.

The police told the court Afrah was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs. His urine tested positive for a type of drug, which was not specified in the court order.

The Criminal Court remanded him in custody of the police for 30 days, citing a history of prior arrests in drug cases, and the need for immediate and urgent treatment for his drug addiction.

The Professional Standards Command have launched an internal investigation into Afrah’s death. And the police said that both the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) and the National Integrity Commission (NIC) have been notified of Afrah’s death.