Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Captain Dr Fathmath Thahsyna
Ibrahim has been removed from her post as Deputy Commander of Medical
Services, after she expressed outrage on social media about alleged
brutality by security forces against demonstrators.
Dr Thahsyna’s 61-year-old father, Ibrahim Abubakur (Kottafaru
Dhonthu), was allegedly struck on the head by an MNDF officer during an
opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protest on August 2.
Videos surfaced on social media showing Abubakur emerging from the
crowd holding his bloodied head while MNDF officers pushed protesters
back to the Chandanee Magu junction. The Republic Square area was
cordoned off by MNDF officers while former President Mohamed Nasheed was
attending police headquarters.
Following the incident, Dr Thahsyna – who was the first female MNDF doctor - took to Facebook alleging that her father was “hit by an MNDF personnel.”
“Every civilian has the right to freely express their views. No
uniformed personnel has any right to beat up their own citizens, no
matter what!” she wrote on August 2. “My father was hit on the head and
he has a 7cm deep laceration on the back of his head.”
Verbal protest or abuse should not be “answered with the baton,” she added.
“I know my father is an MDP activist and he may have called you
names, but still even he doesn’t deserve to be hit on his head,” she
wrote.
When she posted the same comments on the MNDF medical page on
Facebook, Thahsyna revealed that only two officers expressed well wishes
for her father, “out of good will and humanity.”
Abubakur meanwhile told newspaper Haveeru yesterday that his eldest son saw the MNDF officer hit him with a baton.
“That day I was on the pavement in front of the Umar Shopping Arcade. I was behind the
fence. When the army officers charged and tried to disperse the
civilians on the road, someone fell outside the fence and I was hit on
the head while I was bending over to help him back up.”
Speaking to Minivan News today, MNDF Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel
Abdul Raheem confirmed that Dr Thahsyna was removed from her post as
deputy commander on August 5.
Raheem however stressed that she was not demoted to a lower rank but
had “a change of appointment,” which “happened routinely” in the army.
“She is still working at the medical services,” he said. “She has not been transferred to a different unit.”
While Colonel Raheem could not “definitely say at the moment” that Dr
Thahsyna’s removal as deputy commander was in response to her comments
on Facebook, the MNDF spokesperson confirmed that an “internal
investigation” was ongoing into the allegations of brutality against Dr
Thahsyna’s father.
He however added that Dr Thahsyna’s remarks on Facebook was related
to the investigation as she was a uniformed officer making public
comments concerning the army.
On August 3, Dr Thahsyna posted on Facebook asserting that she has “never crossed my limitations as a solider and never will.”
“I don’t believe expressing my sentiments about my father being
beaten up unlawfully is ‘being political’,” she wrote. “What is wrong is
wrong no matter who does it. And we should not hide these unlawful
acts, in order to make people responsible for their actions.”
Raheem meanwhile insisted that the MNDF would take action against any
officers who assaulted civilians “if the investigation finds that any
officer was involved.”
“The MNDF does not support violence and will never support it,” he
said. “We have been telling our officers continuously that no harm
should be caused to anyone. We have internal mechanisms to investigate
such allegations and take measures.”
In the wake of the controversial transfer of power on February 7, Amnesty International, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Human Rights Committee
have expressed concern over the “excessive use of force” against
demonstrators of the formerly ruling MDP calling for early elections for
the past six months.
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