On Saturday September 20, 2003

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

broke out in

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

, the capital city of the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. This unrest was provoked by the death of

Hassan Evan Naseem Hassan Evan Naseem ( dv, ހަސަން އީވާން ނަސީމް; 1984 – September 19, 2003), commonly referred to as Evan Naseem, is the person whose death became a lever for the current, open, political reform activities in the Maldives. He ...

Maafushi Prison Maafushi Prison is a prison in Maafushi on Kaafu Atoll in the Maldives, south of the capital, Malé. It is the largest prison on the islands and has held numerous political prisoners over the years, including the former president, Mohamed Na ...

- located on a separate inhabited island - and the subsequent shooting at the same prison, that killed 3 and injured 17 others. Many government buildings,

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

s and other public properties were set on fire, some were destroyed. The government controlled the unrest by around 23:00 and declared a State of Emergency in

and nearby islands. Late night curfews were enforced from 22:00 to 04:30 in Malé for more than a month following the rioting.

Naseem's death

On Friday September 19, 2003, Naseem, who was serving at Maafushi Jail for drug abuse related offenses, was beaten by the NSS personnel of the security unit in the jail. This led to Naseem's death the following day. The beating came about as punishment for the disturbances from complicated disputes between Naseem's inmates and "neighboring" prisoners. To control the disturbances caused by these disputes (and reportedly to investigate this incident) security personnel came with a list of "troublemakers". Though it is said that, Naseem was not involved in the above-mentioned incident his name appeared on the list. The security guards then had gone in to round-up the listed prisoners. Naseem had resisted and had refused to leave his cell, demanding reasons for his summoning. This resistance ended up injuring a security guard which led to numerous members of the security unit storming into the cell. Naseem was then moved to solitary confinement (referred to as "the range"). On the same night he was severely beaten up by 12 officers. He died in the early morning of September 20, 2003, largely due to injuries sustained to his

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...

from the beating.

Shooting incident

Inmates of Naseem learned of his death at around 11:00 on 20 September 2003. On receiving this

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

, they demanded to meet with a

Security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

officer from the Department of Corrections. There was no response to these repeated demands. Some of the prisoners refused to take lunch to reflect their concern about Naseem's death. Funeral prayers were performed by Naseem's inmates and many other prisoners, after mid-day prayers. Shortly afterwards a loud uproar came from Block C where Naseem's cell was located. Two inmates then jumped out of cell C3 after its corrugated

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

sheets were pushed open. More prisoners followed them and attacked jail security unit personnel. They tried to calm the prisoners down for a while and then dispersed them when the prisoners refused to cease their attack. By now more inmates came out of the Block C and opened other Blocks, facilitating more prisoners to come out. Captain Adam Mohamed, in charge of security unit, was informed of this uprising. He issued instructions to block the

premises Premises are land and buildings together considered as a property. This usage arose from property owners finding the word in their title deeds, where it originally correctly meant "the aforementioned; what this document is about", from Latin ''pr ...

. Upon Mohamed's instruction to block the premises, Jail Security Unit personnel were issued riot gear. Prisoners on the loose confronted with this unit. Since prisoners highly outnumbered them, security personnel in riot gear soon retreated. The

angry mob Mob rule or ochlocracy ( el, ὀχλοκρατία, translit=okhlokratía; la, ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majorit ...

then turned to Adam Mohamed himself. Mohamed Faseeh, a prisoner from the crowd, questioned him about Naseem's death, to which he did not respond reasonably. During this confrontation, Adam Mohamed ordered security units to take arms. Sergeant Shahid Ali Manik (Father of Ahmed Sadhan Shahid), shot the first shots into the air at 12:30. He then aimed and shot at Faseeh without further warning. Subsequently, Private Hassan Rifaau, Private Ahmed Mujuthaba Hussain and Private Mohamed Jinaah shot the prisoners. Some we re shot from behind while retreating, others directly from the front. Twelve rifles were issued from the

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

and 15 persons had possession of them during the rampage.

Fatalities and casualties

A total of 20 people, including a security officer, were shot during the shooting incident at Maafushi prison. Fifteen of the 20 were shot above the knees and 9 of them were directly shot from behind while retreating. Six were shot from front and bullet entry points were not determinable in 5 persons. Abdualla Ameed died instantly due to being hit directly in the head. Two died in a Sri Lankan hospital while being treated.

Unrest

Naseem was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, on September 20, 2003, in

. News of his death soon began to spread by word of mouth. By noon, many learnt about Naseem's death. People soon started gathering near the hospital to

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

and to verify. Access was denied to the public and relatives, except for his mother and father. A large number of people gathered at his burial service. While people were at the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, news of the shooting incident reached the already angry public.

Civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

in Malé started with this news. Several

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

stations were set on fire, government buildings were attacked, and government vehicles were set on fire or destroyed by the angry mob. Among the key places target were The Elections Division office, the Majlis and the High Court. Tear gas drifted through the streets of Malé in the late evening and police used force to control the mob when as they reached

Shaheed Hussain Adam Building ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

. By 23:00, several people were arrested. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom addressed to the nation soon after controlling the riot.

Investigation

Gayoom established a Presidential Commission on September 20, 2003 to investigate Naseem's death and the shooting incident at Maafushi Prison. The findings of the commission were released to the public with the title "Report on the Death of Hassan Evan Naseem" and "Investigative Findings on the Incident of Shooting at Maafushi jail" respectively. However, several sections from these public report were omitted due to national security concerns. During the investigation, survivors were interviewed and investigation teams were sent to

Nawaloka Hospital Nawaloka Hospital traded as Nawaloka Hospitals PLC, was established in 1985 by Deshamanya H. K. Dharmadasa. Nawaloka Hospital is one of Sri Lanka's largest private hospitals and has created a chain of hospitals across the country. It was founded b ...

and

Apollo Hospital Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. Along with the eponymous hospital chain, the company also operates pharmacies, primary care and diagnostic centres, telehealth clinics, ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

where those who survived were being treated. Members of the commission visited Maafushi jail on September 23 and October 6, 2003 and Girifushi training center (on November 30) to obtain information on the nature of weapons used in shooting.

Members of the Presidential Commission

* Abdul Sattar Moosa Didi - ''Chairperson'' * Shaaheen Hameed * Abdulla Saeed * Aishath Mohamed Didi * Dr. Mohamed Solih

External links

Investigative Findings on the Incident of Shooting at Maafushi jail

BBC World report on the incident

-- Warning: ''Graphic Images''
Censorship in the Maldives
- IFEX {{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Maldives Civil Unrest Riots and civil disorder in the Maldives