HRCM expresses concern over release of footage from prior to woman's fall

Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has raised concern over Maldives Police Service publicizing CCTV footage related to the events leading up to a young woman’s fall from a building in Male', identified as H. Fentoniya.

In a statement, the commission said they are investigating how the agencies were handling the case, which involves a 21 year old woman discovered fallen from Fentoniya onto the adjacent building's roof in the early hours of Friday morning.

Referring to social media allegations of police negligence and that the suspects are linked to high-level government officials and may be influencing the investigation, the commission stated that its probe into the matter would take these claims into consideration.

HRCM also said it repeatedly tried to get a statement from the victim's family when the matter came to its attention. According to the commission, the family provided information today, and shared concerns regarding the work of police and other agencies.

HRCM said disclosing certain evidence obtained at an initial stage of a criminal investigation while still in the process of gathering all evidence would impact the investigation.

The commission said it was deeply concerned that the two press conferences held by the police - where one was a closed door briefing only for members of the press, and the other was televised live - showed only the building where the injured woman was last seen.

"It is regrettable that the dignity of the people who appeared in the video has been violated," the statement said.

HRCM also said police, in its closed door press conference held on Tuesday night, disclosing the name and information of the victim while withholding the information of others involved appeared to be preferential towards the accused. This further victimized the victim, the commission said, expressing concern.

The commission further said it was worrying that police gave an account of the incident to the media, implying that the events took place in a specific way, while the investigation has not gone to a stage where the agency could determine exactly what happened. Such conduct diminishes public trust in the agency and leads to questions about the agency's integrity, HRCM said.

"The commission urges everyone to respect the dignity of the victim and their family, and [advice] against publishing their photos and videos on social media," HRCM said.