Malé, Maldives — The Human Rights Commission (HRCM) of Maldives revealed that the four kids of the 21 year old couple jailed in Afghanistan could not be brought to Maldives because their parents were against it.
The family, Ali Shafeeu, H.Moonlight Valley, his wife and their 4 kids, including a newborn child were arrested from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province on 11th November 2018. They have been sentenced to 21 and 20 years of jail for Ali Shafeeu and his wife, respectively.
Police were informed that the family travelled to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State and that this was proved by the IS “propaganda videos” found on a digital device that was confiscated from Ali Shafeeu.
The couple’s family have been speaking on social media, claiming that the kids were being tortured unjustly in the jail. Subsequently, HRCM released a statement revealing that the Afghanistan government was not against bringing the children back to Maldives.
As per the statement, relevant authorities had informed HRCM that they can bring all four kids to Maldives, however, they unable to do so as their parents were against it.
As the kids were living in jail with no faults, HRCM stated that they reached out and held discussions with the family of Ali Shafiu, and after which they gave consent to bring the children to Maldives.
Furthermore, HRCM stated that as soon as they received the parent’s approval, the update was given to all the relevant authorities.
However, the relevant authorities informed HRCM that they are facing difficulties in bringing the kids to Maldives due to the Covid-19 situation and other issues as well.
HRCM assured that they are working along with authorities to find a solution for this issue so the children can be brought to a safer environment.
Police revealed that Ali Shafiu had previously attempted to flee to Syria with his ex-wife in February 2015 as well. Noting that they were stopped at Velana International Airport, police said that he was arrested in September of the same year over allegations of weapons possession.
However, he was later released in January 2016, due to lack of evidence.
A special team from Police travelled to Afghanistan to extradite the family back to Maldives. The authority came under fire with allegations on social media that the team of Maldivian policemen tortured and used foul language against Shafeeu and his family in Afghanistan.
Maldives Police Service denied these allegations in a press release published Thursday night and noted that they have not done anything which might compromise their sanctity in relation to the case.
Furthermore, the Police cautioned the public, that they will be investigating and taking legal action against those spreading such rumours within the community regarding security services, creating hatred towards the members of the authorities.
