By Ali Rasheed, published in eSandhaanu magazine, Issue No: 42, 5 February 2007
He was a mere twelve year old boy when he saw the inside of a prison cell. His crime was that he was riding a motor-cycle without a license. His name is Alexander Nasheed or Alec, as known to his friends.
When taken to the Police Headquarters, he was at once confused and afraid. He could not speak Dhivehi because he had lived in Holland with his stepmother, a Dutch citizen.
Surrounded by hardened criminals he did as they suggested. The only way out – they suggested – was to flee. Before he was mature enough to realize what was happening, he was sentenced by the criminal court for several offences; physically beaten by the police on numerous occasions, spat and pissed on, dunked in filth, handcuffed backwards to coconut trees without any respite for days and sexually harassed by female officers. For a twelve year old, the suffering would have been excruciating.
No – none of this happened in Abu Guraib jail, but right under our nose in Maafushi jail. The place was under Captain Fusfaru Adam Manik’s command and he loved to inflict different type of tortures on inmates. He was backed all the way by the Police Commissioner Brigadier Adam Zahir and in the Defense Ministry, Isthafa Ibrahim Manik and Ambaree Abdul Sattar who was the Minister. President Gayyoom of course condoned everything these people did, including the shooting of unarmed prisoners.
In the wake of the brutal killing of an inmate by name of Eavan Naseem and the subsequent jail riots resulting in the death of 4 inmates and seriously injuring 17 others, Alec, who had been under house arrest at the time, was one of those who took to the streets of Male’ to protest against police brutality. He was implicated in setting fire to several government buildings.
“He signed a confession which implicated him in almost everything done by the street mobs; even things that others had confessed to having done. He did it because he had spent his whole life in jail and the Home Minister Umar Zahir, offered to parole him if he co-operated,” said his guardian Aminath Umar.
Alec’s dream of freedom was partly realized in the amnesty that followed in the wake of Evan Naseem’s death. Half of his jail sentence was pardoned and the remaining period changed to house arrest. However, even this little respite was short-lived. On October 6, 2005, 2 years and 13 days after the events of September 20, 2003, Alec was once again sentenced under the Terrorism Act to 11 years in jail.
“Alec was one of those rare people who made a serious effort to get himself re-instated back into society. He in fact made a good job of it. He was well liked by almost everyone. He was a hard worker too,” said Aminath, who had known him during this period.
Alec is just one among a whole generation of youth who fell prey to Isthafa Ibrahim Manik’s (then Director General of Defense as well as being temporary Head of the Department of Corrections for well over 15 years) quest to become rich. Most of Gayyoom’s cronies were awarded islands for tourism development whereas Isthafa was given all the jails in the country. He made sure he maintained a full-house, thereby ensuring maximum profits by skimming from the prisons budget and today he is a very rich man.
Today, Alec, who is 26 years old, faces the next 10 years in prison. However, with the release of Jennifer Latheef, whom the Attorney General Hassan Saeed has stated was the mastermind behind the rioting that took place on September 20, 2003, Alec’s jail sentence comes under scrutiny, albeit under a different light.
“It’s not fair that Jenny should be released while her co-conspirators, as alleged by the Attorney General, should languish in prison,” said an analyst familiar with the detail’s of Alec’s terrorism case. The sentiment is shared by almost everyone in the Maldives today.
Further reading:
The forgotten young people of 9/20
