The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has launched an investigation into the arrest, medical treatment provision and the events leading up to the death of the Maldivian man who was arrested and remanded for taking a woman hostage and assaulting her.
In a post on social media platform ‘X’ on Monday, HRCM revealed that they are investigating the arrest, medical treatment, and circumstances surrounding the death of Adam Athuhar, native to Milandhoo island of Shaviyani atoll.
Athuhar died while in police custody, on Monday.
HRCM stated that they are probing the use of force by an officer of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) in an attempt to arrest Athuhar on 29 August 2024.
The commission also stated that they will be looking into how the police provided medical treatment to those injured in the incident that night.
In addition to this, HRCM has been looking into how the police institution handled providing medical care to Athuhar after taking him into custody, from the night of the incident onwards.
HRCM went on to state that Athuhar passed away on Monday evening while receiving treatment at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and that MPS informed the commission about the incident where Athuhar attempted suicide, on 1 September 2024, while in police custody.
A team of HRCM’s Rapid Response has been active since then, gathering information. HRCM revealed that they are investigating how things unfolded.
The commission is also probing the circumstances surrounding the suspect’s death while in police custody.
The police said he died while receiving treatment at IGMH.
Citing IGMH, police revealed that he passed away at around 04:08pm on Monday.
He was being treated at IGMH after he was found hanged in his cell at Dhoonidhoo Detention Center on Sunday night.
The police institution is presently conducting further probes and authorities initially decided to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death as well.
MPS has assured that they will provide full cooperation with any investigations conducted by independent institutions regarding the incident.
