Police have released a PowerPoint slideshow containing images of alleged black magic paraphernalia collected from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s protest camp at ‘Usfasgandu’, after they raided the area last Tuesday.
The evidence collected included pieces of paper with Arabic inscriptions, incense, a box of unused condoms, a discarded ‘Tiger’ beer can, and a laminated sheet containing photos of police officers marked with ‘ticks’ and ‘crosses’.
In a press conference on Saturday, Deputy Head of the Special Crime and Command Department, Superintendent Mohamed Riyaz, said that it was clearly mentioned in the Maldives Police Service Act that it was the duty of police to stop people committing unlawful acts in public.
Riyaz said police had sought a court warrant to search the premises for the sake of public opinion, although they had not needed one, and had found evidence suggesting that criminal activities were taking place.
However, he said that police delayed the process of dismantling the camp after the Civil Court ordered it halted.
He contended that Usfasgandu had become a “lawless” area, and said police had evidence it was being used for the practice of sorcery and black magic.
The evidence collected included pieces of paper with Arabic inscriptions, incense, a box of unused condoms, a discarded ‘Tiger’ beer can, and a laminated sheet containing photos of police officers marked with ‘ticks’ and ‘crosses’.
Speaking to Minivan News, MDP spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor described the police statement as an act of repression to control the MDP protesters.
“This is just repression. They are trying their best to hide their impunity by blaming the protesters who have come out against the coup,” Ghafoor said.
Ghafoor alleged that police were inventing reasons to take over Usfasgandu and limit the right of freedom of assembly.
Ghafoor said he had heard similar “vague” language used by pro-government coalition partners during the the all party talks.
”I have come to understand this language the police and even the coup leaders are using during the all party talks. They are desperate. They are desperate to the extent that they feel that their impunity needs to be legitimised,” he said.
The use of “defiance, repression and threat” to control a population was not possible, Ghafoor said.
“The coup regime is desperate. Showing this evidence is just a tool of repression. They were desperate to such an extent that they sent an under cover police officer to Usfasgandu to throw a at a police van,” he alleged.
Police raided the protest camp at on Tuesday morning, after obtaining a search warrant from the Criminal Court and cordoning off the area from MDP demonstrators.
Reasons for the search as mentioned on the warrant issued by the criminal court included: “suspected criminal activity”, “damage to public property”, and “suspected black magic performed in the area”.
Under evidence, the warrant alleged that people in the ‘Usfasgandu’ area verbally abused police officers and damaged a police vehicle on April 20, obstructed a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) exercise of May 9, and on May 25, “MDP protesters threw a cursed rooster at MNDF officers.”
Shortly after the raid, the Civil Court ordered a temporary court injunction after the MDP challenged the legality of the operation.
The government appealed the Civil Court decision in the High Court, which issued an injunction suspending the Civil Court’s injunction.
Police issued a statement right after the High Court injunction stating that there were no more legal obstructions to raiding the camp, but said the police were “thinking on the matter”.
Meanwhile, early on Sunday morning police arrested a MDP activist on charges of practicing black magic.
Activist Jennifer Aishath was arrested on Saturday midnight at around 1:45am near the ‘Aa Saharaa’ cemetery while she was attending a funeral. She was released at around 2:45am in the morning.
Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that police had followed Aishath “because she was up to something”, but did not disclose what this was.
However following her release Aishath produced a police docket stating that the reason for her summoning was for questioning over allegations she was using “black magic and sorcery”.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesperson MP Imthiyaz Fahmy alleged the government was now using charges of black magic and sorcery as an “excuse” to go on a “literal witch hunt” for MDP activists.
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