Pepper spray coma victim wakes up

A man who was in a coma after getting pepper sprayed last Friday has woken up, his family has said.

Abdullah Saleem, 43, had a seizure after riot police used pepper spray on him while he was inside a political party’s headquarters in Malé. He fell into a coma and was admitted to hospital.

“He opened his eyes yesterday, he’s better than before. But we’re still having him sleep,” his brother Ahmed Saleem told Mihaaru.

While Saleem has a history of seizures, his brother said he had not had one in years.

Opposition activist Mickail Naseem claimed Saleem was pepper sprayed inside his mouth.

“Several eyewitnesses have confirmed that the man, currently in a coma at IGMH ICU due to being severely affected by pepper spray, was in fact felled inside Kunooz and pepper sprayed directly in the mouth!” he tweeted.

Saleem remains hospitalised despite showing signs of recovery.