Ibrahim Waheed ‘Aswad’ will undergo major surgery Wednesday (March 6) to correct a maxillary fracture (i.e. broken jawbone) and other minor surgeries would follow as needed Dr KT Iraivan, Assistant General Manager of Operations at Lanka Hospital told local media.
Additionally, Dr Iraivan stated that the internal bleeding in Waheed’s right eye is causing his vision to deteriorate, according to local media.
“He’s on injections and his vision is gradually improving,” Dr Iraivan said to Haveeru.
Waheed will remain in the hospital’s surgical intensive care unit. He appears to have normal brain function.
Minivan News understands that as of February 26 Waheed was still unconscious but his condition had been stabilised. He is moving his eyes and responding to people in the room, but not yet speaking.
Waheed, a senior reporter for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-aligned television station, was attacked with an iron bar while riding on a motorcycle near the artificial beach area. He was on his way to see two Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) journalists who were admitted to hospital after being attacked.
Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz in a tweet informed the public that one person was arrested in connection with the attack, which he described as a murder attempt.
Maldivian journalists took to the streets of Male’ to protests against the recent attacks, joining international organisations who have also condemned the violence.
The attack on Waheed was the most serious incident of violence against a journalist in the Maldives since July 2012, when a group of alleged Islamic radicals slashed the throat of blogger Hilath Rasheed. Rasheed, who had been campaigning for religious tolerance, narrowly survived and has since fled the country.
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