Amnesty International urges Maldives to investigate brutality at Anbaraa
03 Jun 2014, 3:36 PM
Zaheena Rasheed
Amnesty International has urged the Maldives to investigate allegations of police brutality during a raid on a music festival on Anbaraa Island in April.
Although police claimed they carried out the raid on suspicion of drug abuse, their actions on Anbaraa seems to have been focused on stopping the festival and forcing women to cover themselves up, said Amnesty.
The organisation highlighted claims of unnecessary force, arbitrary arrest of 79 festival goers on alleged possession and use of drugs, ill treatment of detainees in police custody and denial of rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
Festival participants told Amnesty that the police manhandled many of them, verbally abused them, threw them to the ground, and forced them to lie face down.
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