Ex-MDP lawmaker cleared of assaulting policeman

The criminal court on Sunday acquitted former MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonde’ on charges of assaulting a policeman in July 2012.

The court ruled that the prosecution’s witness testimony was insufficient to prove guilt.

Two out of three policemen who witnessed the incident had told the court they did not believe the lawmaker hit the officer on purpose.

The Maldivian Democratic Party MP was accused of obstructing police duty during a protest on July 30, 2012, when police stopped a group of activists on motorbikes. He allegedly attempted to push the police back and struck an officer on the chest.

The trial began in October 2012.

Rasheed was arrested and placed under house arrest for five days in early August 2012.

The MP for Maafanu South was severely beaten by Specialist Operations police on February 8, 2012, during a violent crackdown on an MDP march.

No charges were raised with the police watchdog claiming the masked assailants could not be identified.

Not a single police officer has been convicted to date over the brutal crackdown that hospitalised more than 70 protesters.