Charges raised against one in connection to safari sexual assault case

Charges have been raised against one individual linked to the case of sexual assault against a foreign woman, onboard a safari boat in late June 2020.

Charges against Abdulla Shaan, native to Gan island in Laamu atoll, were forwarded to the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court on January 6.

The charges against Shaan specify that he is accused of sexually assaulting an individual, touching an individual without consent and threatening an individual.

In accordance with the Maldives constitution, the accused stands to face a prison sentence between 7 to 10 years, if he is guilty of sexually assaulting someone with a dangerous weapon, and a jail term between three and seven years, if sexual assault charges against him are proven.

The remaining two charges are third grade felonies and carry a sentence of one month and six days in jail, the highest sentence being three months.

In early September last year, the police institution had revealed that they “are nearly done with the investigation”, the case was filed on June 26, the same year.

The latest press in connection to the case was held during July 2020 and authorities revealed that they had collected statements from 11 individuals and confiscated the victim’s phone from the region where the safari was anchored.

Seven others were present in the safari with the victim, a Kenyan woman 27 years of age, who was allegedly groped by two men aboard a safari boat docked off the coast of Hulhumalé.

Two men were arrested under allegations of sexual assault, early morning the same day as the assault and they were released, despite them having been intoxicated and the responding officer failed to do alcohol consumption tests at the scene.

The charges against one of the accused come months after the legal representatives of the victim lodged a case against investigative officers accused of tampering with evidence in the investigation into the case, at the Prosecutor General’s Office, Maldives Police Service as well as the National Integrity Commission (NIC), in October last year.

In an interview with Raajje.MV, Pauline Nduta Gichuru's lawyers, Noorbaan Fahmy and Shafeea Riza revealed that they received a private video message showing investigative officers slandering them and attempting to tamper with the victim’s statement, which was immediately forwarded to relevant authorities.

Upon the conclusion of the meeting the lawyers confronted them, to learn that the message was sent without their knowledge; the officers were unaware that their private skype meeting was recorded.

They have also raised the issue of negligence observed on the police institution’s end in connection to the safari assault case, accusing them of “repeated gross negligence”.

Highlighting that there were so many instances of barefaced lies and negligence including countless wrongdoings, the lawyers urged the police institution to not base their investigative work around any actions that may hamper or soil the victim’s rights and to work with integrity, in a way that does not compromise the people’s trust.

Authorities drew criticism from the public due to delays in prosecution, and there was a lot of controversy over the case in general, from the very beginning.