DO Remembers - Gayyoom is directly responsible for the brutal killing of Evan Naseem and his friends :: Dhivehi Observer

DO Remembers

Gayyoom is directly responsible for the brutal killing of Evan Naseem and his friends

DO Editorial Team, 19 September 2005

As we mark the 2nd year of the brutal killing of Evan Naseem and his friends in Maafushi Jail, we can be sure of one thing. Gayyoom is directly responsible for those deaths because he masterminded and allowed his militia to systematically torture those in detention in his jails for more than 2 decades.

Gayyoom cannot escape the blame because he was fully aware of how brutal his forces were and many had died in custody before as well so this was not just a one off. To add to his brutality, the next day, on 20th September 2003, his forces opened fire on inmates who were protesting to find out why their friend Evan Naseem was killed. Three more inmates died of gunshot wounds and scores were badly injured. Some of them are disabled for life because of the injuries they sustained on the day.

Prior to this incident taking place, the general public were unable to raise their opposition to Gayyoom because he would simply lock them up but the crimes that he committed against us on those two fateful days were just too much and we had to act. The unrest in Male' on 20th September 2003 after people saw with their own eyes how brutal Gayyoom can be, there has been increasing opposition to his rule and a realistic effort is being made to oust him from power.

The formation of the Human Rights Commission, the 'sweeping' reform package and talk of reform of the justice system have all been efforts by Gayyoom to heal the wounds and continue to remain in power at any cost. Today, as we speak of all these atrocities and crimes, Gayyoom is still obviously not willing to budge or change his tactics. The events of August 2004 and this year have once again proven to us that this man is not going to respect the rule of law and will always use his evil forces to oppress the people of Maldives.

There can only be one way to solve this and that is to work together as a united front to end his regime through the ballot box or through mass uprising. Gayyoom must be brought to justice and we must make him an example to future generations. We must make it clear that tyrants like him have no place in our country ever again.

Today, our hearts go out to the families and friends of Evan Naseem and abdulla Ameen from Male', Ahmed Shiyaz from Ga. Vilingili and Ali Aslam from Naifaru. They paid a high price with their lives for the ignorance we showed and for allowing this murderer to remain in power for so many years. We must not forget that tomorrow it could be one of us or one of our own brother or sister.

From DO Archive

Gayyoom is responsible for the systematic torture and killings in Maldives

Many people have died in custody in Maldives and the police detain people arbitrarily. In almost all cases, mental and physical torture occurs. The case of Evan Naseem and what followed in September 2003 was not a mistake nor a one-off. It was an incident of a system that uses institutionalised torture to stay in power. It also marks the beginning of the emergence of a unified opposition and dissent against the tyranny in Maldives, the Worlds' Secret Dictatorship. read more

September 2003 and its relation to the fight for democracy in the Maldives

19 September 2004 - Evan Naseem was serving a sentence in Maafushi Jail for the use of drugs. Some disturbances took place in the jail and Evan Naseem was blamed for this. Evan was taken to the RANGE (the torture chamber) and beaten to death by more than 12 policemen. Evan died because his lungs collapsed after his chest bones fractured and pierced his lungs. This sad incident happened exactly a year ago on 19th September 2003. read more

Maldives... Torture in tropical paradise

12 December 2003 - Police brutality is always associated with dictatorships. Freedom of expression and association is virtually outlawed by such regimes. That is the case in the Maldives. A life sentence in a remote jail cell is the bounty of any patriotic person in the Maldives. read more