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Fourth man dies in Maldives festivities
A fourth prisoner has died after rioting in the Maldives as its president of 25 years settles in to a new term at the helm. Two prisoners died on Friday and Saturday while a third died Monday after admission to a hospital in Sri Lanka. The incident has resulted in the sacking of the police chief by President Aumoon Abd al-Gayoom, and the arrest of six more National Security Service (NSS) men, raising to 11 the total number of security personnel in detention over the killing of inmates at the Maafushi prison. Riots reportedly broke out after police tried to cover up the murder of an inmate by policemen at the prison. News of the inmateâs murder and secretive burial triggered unrest in the prison and protests in the capital city of Malé.
| "But wait! There's more!" |
Protests turned into riots however as mobs torched the elections office, the high court, several police stations and police vehicles and stoned other public buildings, including the nation's main international conference centre. The latest death coincided with President al-Gayoom winning all 50 votes in parliament.
| Had an election. The votes were counted, and it was all over but the shootin'... |
He has secured a sixth five-year term to lead the tiny nation of 1192 coral islands, the most expensive tourist destination in the Indian Ocean.
| That's... Ummm... (...carry the six... divide by 11... square root of 14......) 30 years in power. |
At least 12 inmates have been flown to neighbouring Sri Lanka with serious gunshot wounds. Maldivian authorities have stressed the unrest was unrelated to the re-election bid of al-Gayoom.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-09-26 |
