MP for Hithadhoo Medhu Constituency and Brigadier General retired Ibrahim Didi says former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom did not order the use of firearms to control the 2003 prison unrest in Maafushi Jail.
In a tweet, MP Ibrahim Didi said that untrue reports are being circulated about the unrest and that former President Maumoon did not order the use of lethal weapons against the prisoners during the September 19 riot.
He said that the incident was thoroughly investigated and the Prosecutor General’s Office has all the relevant statements from the investigation. He also said those responsible for the unrest have been punished and that he did not wish to argue over the details of the 17-year old incident via twitter.
Ex-President Maumoon replied to his tweet by thanking the MP for clarifying the truth.
This comes after MP for Feydhoo constituency Mohamed Nihad accused that security services used firearms against unarmed prisoners upon the order of the chief of the defense force, then-President Maumoon. He also said while those who followed the order and gunned down prisoners are now serving life sentences, the man who gave the ordered is free and living happily.
Maldives Democratic Party MDP had aimed harsh criticism at former President Maumoon on the 17th year anniversary of the tragic death of detainee Evan Naseem and other prisoners who died in the unrest in the Maafushi jail after MNDF soldiers opened fire on them.
The death of Evan who was allegedly beaten and tortured by prison officials and the ensuing violence in the Maafushi jail are the cornerstone of the MDP philosophy who had called for the proper investigation into the unprecedented evens that shaped the future of the country.
The incident made many fall behind MDP who promised justice against those behind the violence and won the country’s first-ever democratic presidential election back in 2008.
