Govt rules out torture, foul play in inmate's death
Police also released CCTV footage of Jameel's latest activities at Saturday's press conference.
Investigations have not revealed that Mohammed Jameel, the Maafushi Prison inmate who died on Friday had suffered any physical injury, and the photos circulating on social media show signs of discoloration on the body after his death.
On Friday evening, rumours saying that Jameel’s family was alleging that he was tortured to death in jail had gone viral on social media. Pictures of his face and body showing signs of bruise-like discoloration were widely circulated.
Speaking at the Homeland Security press conference held on Saturday regarding these allegations, Chief Inspector Mohammed Samih said Jameel had not suffered any physical injuries, according to the doctor who examined his body.
“Now, the bruise-like patches visible in the pictures show the time that has lapsed after death, there are a lot of factors in that. There are a lot of things like the duration, location, position and the temperature of the place he died in. The markings seen in the photographs and identified in the investigation are not from any harm,' Samih said.
"These are the changes that come with the changes in the body after death. In medical terms, body discoloration, as you can see in the photos, is mostly in the back”.
Once Maafushi health centre declared his death, Jameel’s body was brought to Male for further investigation. Home Minister Ali Ihsan told a news conference on Saturday that a CT scan had been conducted on Jameel's body at the IGMH, but the results are not in yet.
Ihsan said the decision was taken not to conduct a post-mortem on Jameel because the police investigation, the HRCM and the National Integrity Commission had concurred that the death required no further investigation, declaring it natural. However, after the body was handed over to the family and the photographs went viral, the police had again decided to conduct a post-mortem on Jameel but the family denied it, claiming they believed it was a natural death as well.
The Corrections said on Saturday:
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Jameel was kept in a cell of the units where government dignitaries were kept when sentenced to jail
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The unit will have a camera installed. Jameel destroyed the first camera and smudged the second camera with toothpaste when it was installed
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The unit will be open from 7am to 9pm The prisoners would be out in the yard, and it was not a closed unit, so the guards wouldn't check the prisoners’ status every hour
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The unit opened at 7 o'clock on the day of his death, and he was praying at the time
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At 9:15, the prisoner who took him his tea went to his cell and announced his tea was there, and left it in the cell, believing he was still in prayer, as his body was in prostration
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At 11:34 officers went to check on him since he had not come out of his cell and found him dead
Jameel suffers from mental problems, the corrections and police have previously said.
Police also released CCTV footage of Jameel's latest activities at Saturday's press conference. It shows Jameel praying in an unusual fashion and shows that he did not rise from his last prostration.
