2003 Maldives civil unrest
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On Saturday September 20, 2003
Many government buildings,
Naseem's death
On Friday September 19, 2003, Naseem, who was serving at Maafushi
Shooting incident
Inmates of Naseem learned of his death at around 11:00 on 20 September 2003. On receiving this news, they demanded to meet with a Security officer from the Department of Corrections. There was no response to these repeated demands. Some of the prisoners refused to take lunch to reflect their concern about Naseem's death.
The
Twelve
Fatalities and casualties
A total of 20 people, including a security officer, were shot during the shooting incident at Maafushi prison. Fifteen of the 20 were shot above the knees and 9 of them were directly shot from behind while retreating. Six were shot from front and bullet entry points were not determinable in 5 persons. Abdualla Ameed died instantly due to being hit directly in the head. Two died in a Sri Lankan hospital while being treated.
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Unrest
Naseem was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, on September 20, 2003, in Malé. News of his death soon began to spread by word of mouth. By noon, many learnt about Naseem's death. People soon started gathering near the hospital to witness and to verify. Access was denied to the public and relatives, except for his mother and father.
A large number of people gathered at his
Tear gas drifted through the streets of Malé in the late evening and police used force to control the mob when as they reached Shaheed Hussain Adam Building. By 23:00, several people were arrested. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom addressed to the nation soon after controlling the riot.
Investigation
Gayoom established a Presidential Commission on September 20, 2003 to investigate Naseem's death and the shooting incident at Maafushi Prison. The findings of the commission were released to the public with the title "Report on the Death of Hassan Evan Naseem" and "Investigative Findings on the Incident of Shooting at Maafushi jail" respectively. However, several sections from these public report were omitted due to national security concerns.
During the investigation, survivors were interviewed and investigation teams were sent to
Members of the Presidential Commission
- Abdul Sattar Moosa Didi - Chairperson
- Shaaheen Hameed
- Abdulla Saeed
- Aishath Mohamed Didi
- Dr. Mohamed Solih
External links
- Investigative Findings on the Incident of Shooting at Maafushi jail
- BBC World report on the incident
- Image gallery of the shooting incident -- Warning: Graphic Images
- Censorship in the Maldives - IFEX
- "Maldives profile - Timeline". BBC News. 24 September 2018.
- Wilson, Jamie; MacDonald, Linda (24 September 2003). "Trouble in paradise: riots and arrests rock the Maldives". The Guardian.