On Sudnay, the state prosecutors falsely claimed in court that South-Galolhu MP Ahmed Mahloof had tweeted that authorities were killing inmates in Maafushi Prison before inmate Abdulla Rasheed’s sudden death.
The MP was charged with false reporting over the tweet he sent out on January 20.
At Sunday’s hearing, the State’s senior public prosecutor Shukoorulla Shakeer claimed that Mahloof made the tweet before inmate Rasheed’s death. He said this in response to Mahloof, who noted Rasheed's death among the many inmates that have died due to failure to provide the adequate medical care.
However, Rasheed- jailed following the May Day protests in 2015- had died in October of last year.
In the tweet sent in January, Mahloof said “detainees are not dying in Maafushi Prison, they are being killed. They are being killed by not providing them with the necessary medical treatment. When 10 detainees die within a year, it’s a serious issue. Commissioner Shiyan and DOP Salman must take full responsibility. I don’t know how many times I’ve made this complaint while I was jailed.”
At the hearing, Mahloof said he made the tweet specifically to address his outrage over Rasheed’s death, who is from his constituency. However, the state prosecutors refused to change their claim.
Mahloof has since made the same accusation on authorities, following the death of another inmate on Friday.
13th inmate dies in 2 years, the highest per capita of custodial deaths in the world. Yet in a few days Criminal Court will be sentencing me to jail regarding a tweet about medical negligence in jails. I repeat those accusations again, as it’s more evident now. https://t.co/E3sniJSJNh
— Ahmed Mahloof (@AhmedMahloof) June 1, 2018