Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has revealed that the case of a dialysis patient allegedly dying due to inability to be brought to the capital Malé City for treatment during the large-scale taxi drivers' protest against the government can only be clarified upon submitting a formal written request.
While MP for North Machangolhi constituency Ibrahim Mohamed had earlier spoken in a way that implicated taxi drivers with suspicion of death by misusing parliamentary privilege, the Drivers Association of Maldives (DAM) has denied these remarks.
The association also issued a statement on February 11 condemning said remarks.
President of the Drivers Association of Maldives Ibrahim Niyaz has also denied the allegations made by the lawmaker. He said it was an outright fabricated lie. He also stated that no such incident occurred on that day.
As discussions continue regarding the alleged death of a dialysis patient due to delayed treatment during the taxi drivers' protest, RaajjeMV’s journalists have attempted to verify this information by contacting the media official at IGMH Hospital.
However, the hospital's media official revealed that the information can only be provided upon submitting a formal written request. They also revealed that the information cannot be shared in any other way.
Speaking in a manner that implicated taxi drivers with suspicion of death, the lawmaker had said that Velana International Airport (VIA) is located between the capital Malé City and Hulhumalé, and that major hospitals are located in the Greater Malé Region, thus involving the rights of people and tourists.
He raised questions about the rights of people who died due to not being able to receive dialysis and others who suffered related injuries when the roads were blocked that night.
While the Drivers Association has also issued a statement denying the remarks made by the lawmaker that implicated taxi drivers with suspicion of death, the statement said that ambulances were not obstructed in any way during the taxi drivers' protest.
They also highlighted that using the legal privilege granted by the People's Majlis to instill fear and hatred towards taxi drivers in people's hearts by claiming someone died as a result is a very unfortunate and low act. The statement also strongly condemned this action.
The statement said that justice should be administered fairly in any part of the world, not by majority or plurality. It also stressed that the case should focus on who was negligent.
Taxi drivers have always worked and will continue to work within the legal framework established for it, and on the day of the rally, they had protested because no solution was reached through several consultations with the government, and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen had also given different answers on different occasions, in addition to the government not resolving any issues so far, within their rights granted by law.
The statement also mentioned that after concluding that night's protest, they did not show any disobedience to orders of law enforcement officers in any subsequent events. The clearest evidence of this is that there were no confrontations between the police officers and drivers. It was also noted in the statement that even the towed cars that night were driven and taken to the location specified by the police upon their orders.
Further, the statement issued by DAM also shed light on the “great” harm and sorrow inflicted upon taxi drivers and their families by the incumbent administration.
