Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has on Thursday ordered the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) to facilitate the immediate transfer of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor to house arrest.
HRCM had ordered the MCS to do so following an operation in which a stent was placed in the former VP’s ureter, resulting in instability that will require him to better be with his family where he will get the ideal care he needs.
Adeeb was taken to Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) for emergency medical treatment following a sudden health deterioration on the 09th of November and was treated at the hospital’s Emergency Room for ureteral stones the doctors had discovered as the cause of the pain. He has since undergone a laser treatment to break stones in his ureter, on Monday.
Although the surgery turned out successful, the doctors had advised him to undergo further treatment as he had developed an infection following the surgery, after a stent was placed inside his ureter. Doctors have since been giving him strong antibiotics for treatment.
With this having been said, Adeeb’s family have expressed concerns over Adeeb’s deteriorating health due to the infection and although the HRCM has ordered MCS to transfer him to house arrest, they are yet to act on the order.
The family continues to implore authorities to let the former VP seek adequate medical treatment for other diagnoses as well. As such, the former VP is also seeking treatment for internal cysts and vision impairment from glaucoma as well as cataracts, since his incarceration in 2015. He has also been denied a doctor prescribed cancer screening for the past 3 years. The family has been imploring from the state to grant Adeeb medical leave, with the state repeatedly rejecting them, deeming him a flight risk.
With the authorities having drawn many accusations of neglect and differentiation towards the second and youngest VP to have served in the Yameen administration, it is notable that the top officials of the current administration continue to voice concerns over Adeeb’s ill treatment in prison, with them deeming Adeeb as one of the most abused prisoners.
The former VP was arrested in October 2015 over allegations of terrorism for his alleged involvement in the explosion aboard the Presidential speedboat “Finifenmaa”. He is serving a 33-year prison for multiple allegations of corruption and terrorism for his involvement in the massive case of graft involving the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) as well as the attempted assassination of former President Yameen.
The Supreme Court had on February 1, 2018 said in a ruling that Adeeb's trials were politically motivated, biased and without due process and needs to be reinvestigated.
