Munaz: Guards who attacked inmates haven’t been identified

The prison guards who used excessive force on inmates at Maafushi Prison on June 10 haven’t been identified yet, says Commissioner of Prisons, Abdulla Munaz.

Munaz was summoned by the Security and Bilateral Relations Committee of the Parliament for questioning regarding the violence at Maafushi Prison this Saturday evening.

In response to questions by the committee, Munaz said the immediate responsibility of such an incident as seen at Maafushi Prison must be borne by the commander in charge of the operation.

Minister of Home Affairs, Sheikh Imran Abdulla confirmed earlier this Saturday that a commander of Maldives Correctional Service’s Emergency Support Group (ESG) has been placed under suspension in connection to the case.

Munaz said the decision to suspend the commander was made following failure to identify the guards who attacked the inmates.

“As the first thing to identify the perpetrators, we isolated the commander. We haven’t identified the individual perpetrators yet. I asked the Inspector General just after sunset today if they had identified any of the officers who attacked the inmates yet. He said they hadn’t,” said Munaz.

He said that the guards will be placed under immediate suspension the moment they are identified.

Munaz said that that initial findings showed that the original incident which led to the violence from the prison guards was an attack on a guard by an inmate.

“What happened was an inmate at a cell asked a guard to smuggle in contraband. The guard refused. [The inmate] Said this or that person doesn’t refuse. [The guard] Said he won’t. It seems he got angry and hit [the guard],” said Munaz.

He said that the inmate, when questioned, had confessed to getting angry both at the guard’s refusal to do something which he said other guards agreed to, and his tone of voice.

“The investigation needs to be completed before we can determine what happened. What’s established is the inmate has confessed to hitting the guard,” said Munaz.

Munaz said that six inmates were treated for injuries following the use of excessive force by the guard.