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The following is a true story recalled by a friend of mine. I write this to highlight the dire need for transitional justice and an absolute end to torture. I write this with his permission but am not revealing names to not compromise the chance for proper justice.
It was the 1990s and he was barely 18. As is the norm in our youth when there was no internet, Netflix or any streaming devices, movies were those we got in cassettes. He had a copy of a movie called Body of Evidence.
Granted it was rated18 but was nothing close to being considered pornography. When a friend asked for a movie he didn't think twice about letting him borrow the movie since in his mind it was an English movie albeit a little adult in content as he'd heard.
His friend while going home with the movie was stopped by the Police and upon inquiry revealed that my friend had lent it to him. After brilliant detective work the Police asked my friend to come to the Police Station for a statement.
The Investigating Officer quickly wrote an arbitrary statement about how my friend was importing and supplying pornography in the country. My friend refused to sign the statement insisting the movie wasn't pornography and that he wasn't a porn dealer.
Once it was clear he wouldn't sign the statement, he was handcuffed and taken to Gaamaadhoo prison. His family wasn't informed and he had no amenities or clothes.
An 18 year old with absolutely no criminal record was crammed into a cell made for 17 where he was occupant number 25. His family only found out when they reported him missing to the Police.
Because the cell was cramped he had to sleep on the floor instead of a raised platform that was actually meant for sleeping. He would wake up with body covered in hair and nose wax. He had to spend 2 weeks in prison.
Two weeks later he was taken to the police station where his father was brought in. The said investigating officer then forced the son and the father to watch the intimate scenes of the movie he was alleged to have distributed.
At the end he begged for the statement and that he'll sign it whatever it said. The IO quipped that if only he had done it in the first instance too. He was put under house arrest for a few days and then asked not to leave the country.
To this day he still haven't heard back about the case. He was so traumatized that he didn't come out of his house for three months for the fear of getting arrested.
This is just one of the thousands of cases of abuse of power and torture simply because the Police had unchecked authority and power. I write this with his permission but cannot reveal names at this point.
This thread is just to highlight why we need transitional justice and why we need it right now. @JeehanJMS @PoliceMv @mvpeoplesmajlis
