Yumn did not jump on her own, family says, after fall victim wakes
Hawwa Yumn Rasheed disputes police account, stating others present at Fentenoy apartments.
Artwork: Dosain
09 May, 12:49 AM
Maldives Independent
The family of 21 year-old Hawwa Yumn Rasheed, who was severely injured after falling from a nine-storey building on April 18, have revealed she was stable enough to have a conversation.
The incident happened after a party at Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen’s house. A smaller group went on to Kashiveli, a house on Ameenee Magu before Yumn and 21 year-old Raudh Ahmed Zilal went to the Fentenoy apartment building, according to the police account. She was found that morning on the roof of a warehouse adjacent to the building. The unexplained nature of her fall and the unsatisfactory nature of the police response have gripped the Maldives, with hundreds of young people accusing police of a cover-up and protesting against the impunity, nepotism and police negligence in nightly demonstrations. These led to the resignation of Police Commissioner Ali Shujau and the formation of an inquiry commission. Police cracked down on demonstrations last week, pepper spraying the crowd and arresting two of the organisers. Seven people identified as having attended the party had travel bans imposed, while Raudh was arrested and has been in detention ever since.
In a short 15-minute appearance on live TV, Yumn’s cousin Ageela Naeem said she had talked about the incident and refuted the police account of events. According to Ageela, Yumn said she did not fall on her own, and that there were four other people besides her and Raudh at Fentenoy. It was not a random apartment building, as stated by police, and she had been there before. That night she had been invited, and the location had been shared by Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, one of the men named by police as having taken part in the initial party at transport minister Ameen’s house. Police have also issued a travel ban on Yassar and confiscated his phone under a court order.
Translation of the statement by Ageela Naeem, shown live on Channel 13 and Raajje TV:
Twenty days have elapsed since my sister’s fall from the 9th floor of H. Fentenoy, and neither the government nor the Maldives Police Services have conducted an adequate investigation of any sort. On behalf of the family, I am meeting you – as Yumn’s condition has improved – to share some of the information we have received from Yumn [herself].
We were taken to the police [station] and told that it was a random house that did not even have a camera. But Yumn told us today that she has previously been to the house, and that she was invited by [Yassar Abdul Ghafoor], the location of the house was sent by Yassar, she went to both the houses on the night by Yassar’s invitation.
Yumn said: “I did not do such a thing of my volition, I did not fall by my own doing.”
It is very difficult to talk about this… What happened there… It would not be a lie to say that Yumn is in a disabled state. But… there were four other people excluding Yassar and Raudh. Therefore, the lies Maldives Police Service has been spewing, the lies by others [institutions] – I am here to reveal the truth behind all that. The last thing Yumn told me is “Will I get justice? Are you sure justice will be served? This is not something I did on my own, this was done to me by a group of people.”
She was left to die by a group of people, not on her own. When I talk about this on this platform today, I know it will have repercussions on my own life. However we want justice – our family wants to seek justice.
My question is to the commission that was established [to investigate the incident] – why has no communication been made with the family? Why have the police not questioned the family further? In trying to portray her in a particular light to the entire nation, my sister’s dignity was destroyed. These are things I witnessed myself.
The people in charge of the investigations lied, and even when we questioned them further, they lied. Today I saw that the commission has set up a [web] portal; is that the way a commission investigates a case? So random people should send evidence through a portal? Is that how you want to investigate the case? Why did the police have to publicly reveal everything without taking Yumn’s statement? Is that how the Maldives Police Service conducts an investigation?
We have been struggling for justice for some time. We have been on the streets. Where are the answers to the lingering questions? Our family does not want and has never wanted to make this political. Even when we spoke at the protest, the intention was not to make this political – but we are forced to seek a platform, to go to some group or another to seek justice.
That is our intention. We absolutely have no intention to make this political. We do not deny the course of events… But she was left to die on that roof. Only they would know for how long was she left on that roof to die? They were the ones who left her. Although we have not detailed her injuries to the public, we know the severity of her condition. So where should we go in search of justice for Hawwa Yumn?
It does not matter to whom we must go and meet. A lot of challenges have come up, a lot of harassment, and a lot of threats against the family, and I know I will face the same. But it is my younger sister lying there today – I call on all the citizens of Maldives to seek justice for my sister. Do not judge her. We do not care for the people who judge her. Leaving someone to die testifies to [their] lack of humanity. A lot has been swept under the rug, the videos were edited, footage was edited. All of which happened right in front of our eyes, and that is the reason why I do not hesitate today to speak about all of this. From day one until today, I have witnessed all these things happening.
I asked the investigators of the case to show us Yumn’s phone, because they said it was in their possession, to verify if it is her phone. They refused to do so. So many other things were done to distort the truth. The person who oversaw the investigation was removed and moved to another post, and is that it? Who is accountable? Instead, fingers are being pointed at the family saying this and that. We are not talking about our family, we are talking about Yumn.
I thank Channel 13 and all others for giving me this time, especially for the help Maldivian citizens have lent to my sister – we will, myself and my sister – always remember this. Not thanking one single person but all Maldivians for the assistance rendered to bring her here – it was the biggest support and inspiration. It is the Maldivian public who helped us, not the Maldivian government. Raajje TV, Channel 13 and all the young people who have been advocating with us, I thank you all on behalf of the family, for all that you have done. Thank you for the opportunity and for listening.