‘Egg Mahir’ Vows To Strike Again

Torture victim Abdulla Mahir, who made headlines earlier this month after throwing an egg at President Gayoom during the latter’s official trip to Britain, has vowed to continue his campaign of direct action against the president.

During an exclusive interview with Minivan News in London, Mahir said he would continue to hound Gayoom “until he takes responsibility for what he has done.”

Mahir is demanding that the president affords him “justice and compensation” for injuries Mahir says he sustained at the hands of Gayoom’s security services.

“Every time Gayoom comes to Britain I will confront him,” said Mahir, who has been awarded refugee status in the United Kingdom and granted indefinite leave to remain in the country.

Broken Spine

‘Backbone’ Mahir, as he is ominously referred to by his friends, coined the nickname after his spine was broken by Gayoom’s National Security Service (NSS) guards in on 18 January 1995, his eighteenth birthday.

The interrogation team that Mahir says tortured him was headed by former NSS Sergeant – and now Islamic Democratic Party chief – Umar Naseer.

“Umar Naseer came forward and punched me in the side of the face. Immediately after that Atheef picked me up from my belt and threw me to the floor. I tried to stand but they started kicking me with their military boots. My two friends with me were made to remain sitting in their chairs while I was being beaten.” That is one of the milder extracts from Mahir’s horrific testimony of his time courtesy of the NSS.

Mahir holds Umar Naseer – who denies charges of using torture during his NSS career – responsible for his injuries. Mahir also says Gayoom is culpable because he headed the regime that left Mahir permanently disabled.

Egg Attack

Mahir threw the egg during a Presidential address to the Royal Commonwealth Society in London. Gayoom was nearing the end of a speech on climate change when Mahir, sitting two rows back in the audience, took aim and released his projectile.

Mahir was quickly apprehended by Gayoom’s Maldivian security personnel before he was able to throw a second egg at the president. British police arrived on the scene soon afterwards and took Mahir into custody.

Mahir says he asked officials at the Commonwealth Society to call the British police because he was fearful of the president’s Maldivian personal security guards, who Mahir says manhandled him following the egg attack.

“One man grabbed my neck and head and another tried to hit me,” Mahir said, recounting the incident that has made him famous across the Maldives. “They were pushing their fists into my face and threatening me. When they took me outside of the hall, I thought they would beat me up.”

But Commonwealth Society staff intervened and, according to Mahir, told Gayoom’s security guards to “leave him alone” and “calm down.”

The Commonwealth Society staff took Mahir into a room. The presidential security guards were told to wait outside. “I asked the staff to call English police otherwise Gayoom’s people might do something,” Mahir said.

“When the police came, they said they were there to ‘protect all citizens of this country’ and told me ‘nothing will happen to you.’”

The police asked Mahir why he threw the egg at the president. Mahir explained that it was a protest against the torture he suffered at the hands of Gayoom’s security forces.

The Commonwealth Society staff allegedly confirmed to the police that the egg hit Gayoom on the left hand side of the chest and splattered across his jacket.

A Laughing Matter

“The police took me to Charing Cross Police Station. They said they had to arrest me because it is common assault to hit a person with an egg. The police said that if the egg had missed, they would not have arrested me,” said Mahir.

“The police released me after questioning and said I have to return to the station on 21 August to see if Gayoom has decided to press charges.”

“The police treated me very nicely. One officer said to me ‘I hope things work out in your favour.’”

“Another policeman was laughing throughout the interview,” Mahir added.

“It was 99% different being under British custody compared to being questioned by Maldivian police. The interview technique was different. I was allowed my lawyer to sit with me throughout the interview and the whole thing was tape recorded. At the end, my lawyer was given a copy of the tape recording. Then a doctor and a nurse came to check that Gayoom’s bodyguards hadn’t hurt me.”

Abdulla Mahir Vs Maumoon Gayoom?

Mahir says he hopes President Gayoom decides to press charges against him. He points out that his defence lawyers would be given a copy of the prosecution’s evidence, which would likely include a video recording of the moment when the egg hit the president. The incident was almost certainly captured by the president’s cameraman but the tape has not been made public.

During a trial, the judge may ask for the video images to be shown in court. Mahir says he relishes the prospect of inviting journalists to observe the trial, “So the whole of Maldives can watch the video of the President being hit by an egg.”

If convicted of common assault, Mahir will be issued with a fine or asked to do community service, a punishment that involves civic work such as cleaning graffiti from walls. However, Mahir would most likely be issued with a small fine, as his disability would almost certainly preclude him from carrying out community service.

“Gayoom’s people can’t interfere with justice here, like they do in Maldives. If Gayoom’s people try to interfere with the British legal system, they will be arrested,” Mahir warned.

Quest For Justice

Mahir says he wants compensation from Gayoom for the physical and mental torture that he endured and for the knock-on impact that had on his education.

“Every time Gayoom comes to Britain I will confront him. I can do lots of things to embarrass him. I can go and ask him difficult questions in public; I can shout and throw eggs. He can’t stop me here because Britain is a democracy.”

Mahir believes his vocal stand against Gayoom will “give people more courage” in the Maldives. “I want people to have the courage to protest against Gayoom – but nicely and without violence.”

“I was very close to the President. I could have hit him in the face with that egg. But I was being nice, I didn’t want to hurt his eyes,” Mahir said.

“And I won’t give up. Whether Gayoom is president or not, I will confront him. He has to take responsibility for dozens of people like me who were tortured under his regime.”