Maldives Police Service (MPS) has denied allegations of torturing and verbally abusing a Maldivian family detained in Afghanistan.
MPS released a statement on June 17 after the family of Ali Shafiu, who has been sentenced to prison along with his wife for linking up with a militant organisation in Afghanistan, accused MPS of torturing the family. The family had accused MPS of conducting a joint operation with Afghan police to arrest and torture the family.
Responding to the claims, MPS said it had no information on a Maldivian family in Afghanistan until Interpol shared information of the arrest of Ali Shafiu and his family on November 18, 2018. MPS said it had sent a team of officers to Afghanistan to review the case, but at no point had the team taken part in any torture or verbal abuse of the detained family. MPS condemned the false claims in the strongest of terms, and warned legal action will be taken against people that spread such lies about the institution.
Ali Shafiu, his wife and their four children were apprehended in Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, while allegedly linking up with a branch of the Islamic State (IS) militant organisation. Ali Shafiu and his wife have been sentenced to 21 years in prison by an Afghan court.
Shafiu had previous history of religious extremism and links to militant organisations. As such, he was arrested in Velana International Airport (VIA) in 2015 while attempting to go to Syria to take part in the civil war in the country. He had also been arrested in relation to possession of weapons found near Hinbalhidhoo in Baa Atoll. However, he was released due to lack of evidence.