The body of Adam Athuhar, who died while in policy custody, has been sent abroad for an autopsy.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed that the body of Adam Athuhar, native to Milandhoo island of Shaviyani atoll was sent abroad for a postmortem examination on Thursday morning.

The autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

Athuhar died on September 2 while receiving emergency treatment at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) after attempting to kill himself inside his prison cell on September 1. Citing IGMH, police revealed that he passed away at around 04:08pm on Monday.

He was transferred to capital Malé City from Dhoonidhoo island where he was being held in custody, via speedboat.

The Maldivian man was arrested and remanded for taking a woman hostage, threatening and assaulting her at knifepoint.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) showed the video footage of Athuhar attempting suicide inside his prison cell, to the media on September 2. MPS that day revealed that Athuhar was found hanged inside his cell, on September 1 at 07:02pm.

The 36-minute-long CCTV footage shows Athuhar sitting on the bed with his back to the CCTV camera and making movements, he appears to be doing something with the rubber attached to his shorts. He stands up and moves towards the barred window of the cell, before attaching the rubber from his shorts to the bars after which a rope is seen tied around his neck. He then sits down near the window, slowly. As he lowers himself while sitting, the rope gets tighter and shortly after he is seen lying down with the rope tied around his throat, appearing to be struggling as if unable to breathe. After a while his movements slow down and no further movement is observed.

After about 30 minutes, three officers arrive, open the cell door, and remove the rope from his neck before lifting him and calling for medics.

The police said that Athuhar was brought to the capital by speedboat at 07:14pm on Sunday night, transferred to an ambulance at 07:17pm, and taken to the emergency room of Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) at 07:25pm.

Neither the police nor the home minister provided any additional details regarding the matter. Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan stated that the information cannot be disclosed yet as investigations are ongoing at three different institutions.

In addition to this, Ihusaan denied claims that the police had abused and killed Athuhar stating that the CCTV footage was a raw file and therefore did not show any such actions.

Since then, the family has raised questions regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.

Mohamed Thasmeen, the suspect’s brother spoke about the incident. Thasmeen said that when they saw him after he died and was bathed for his funeral, there were no visible marks on his neck indicating that he tried to hang himself.

Thasmeen stated that if he hanged himself, there would be visible red marks on his neck. However, he stressed that there were no such marks.

Earlier, the family stressed that they did not want to conduct a post-mortem examination on Athuhar, and that they wished to bury him as soon as possible. According to the suspect's brother, the family met authorities and requested to see the footage showing Athuhar hanging himself.

A video circulating on social media shows Athuhar being hit with a baton on his head by a police officer, in the events that led up to his arrest. He drops to the ground, taking the woman with him. Chaos breaks out after this, and officers are seen trying to gain control of the situation as a bystander helps the victim up.

Athuhar received treatment at both ADK Hospital and IGMH before being taken back to jail.

Earlier, police stated that his test results did not indicate any serious injuries.

Since then, 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. They are probing the use of force by an officer in an attempt to arrest Athuhar on 29 August 2024.

A team of HRCM’s Rapid Response has been active since then, gathering information. HRCM revealed that they are investigating how things unfolded.

MPS has assured that they will provide full cooperation with any investigations conducted by independent institutions regarding the incident.

Transparency Maldives has also issued a statement, urging authorities to conduct a fair and independent investigation into the death.

TM has urged all relevant authorities including the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) and National Integrity Commission (NIC) to conduct a fair, independent, thorough, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his arrest and the events leading up to his death.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has since claimed that based on the information received, it is believed that there was negligence in properly monitoring the activities of Athuhar inside the cell.

Acknowledging efforts of police officers in rescuing the woman during the hostage situation in the capital city, MDP stressed that how events unfolded have led to questions arising as to whether the police acted contrary to the established protocols for handling such situations.