PG decides not to press charges in Abdulla Rasheed’s death case

Prosecutor General (PG)’s office has concluded that they are unable to proceed with Abdulla Rasheed’s case.

Rasheed was arrested and imprisoned after being found guilty of assaulting a police officer during the May Day protest in 2015, and passed away at Maafushi Prison on 10 October 2017.

Human Rights Commission, on two separate occasions, requested the PG to sue the Correctional Service over negligence leading to Rasheed’s death.

The Commission’s report states that Rasheed’s health deteriorated in prison and that he first sought treatment on 7 October 2017 and then was treated at the Maafushi Prison Medical Center three times before being transferred to Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital on 9 October 2017.

The report highlights that one of the doctors who treated Rasheed was not registered at the Maldives Medical and Dental Council and that the Maafushi Prison Medical Center was giving treatment while being unregistered.

After the Commission informed the Correctional Service, the Maafushi Prison Medical Center was registered at the Ministry of Health on 5 August 2018.

The PG has informed the Commission that there is not enough evidence to file criminal charges and that they cannot prosecute those responsible in the case based on their statements, adding that they cannot build a case on just the crime of providing unlicensed medical treatment.

Rasheed’s family has also repeatedly accused the Correctional Service of negligence of failing to provide proper medical treatment during the days that he had been ill and failing to instruct the family on proper procedures. His wife has cited doctors saying that he died due to lung and kidney failure after his internal organs became infected.