Case History: Mahfooz Saeed
On 4 September 2015, human rights lawyer Mr Mahfooz Saeed was attacked by two unidentified men in Malé. During the attack, he sustained stab wounds on one side of his head.
The attack occurred one week after a public speech he made in which he criticised the current government.
Mahfooz Saeed is a human rights lawyer and member of the legal team for former president Mohamed Nasheed, who was convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act and sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015, following proceedings which did not meet international standards for fair trial. In his blogs Mahfooz Saeed speaks critically about the shortcomings of the Maldives judicial system, escalating crime rate and deteriorating socio-political situation, and calls for judicial reform in the country.
On 4 September 2015, human rights lawyer Mr Mahfooz Saeed was attacked by two unidentified men in Malé. During the attack, he sustained stab wounds on one side of his head.
The attack occurred one week after a public speech he made in which he criticised the current government.
On 4 September 2015, at around 5:30pm, two unknown men attacked and stabbed the human rights lawyer, causing injury to the left side of his head, as he was sitting on the back of a motorcycle. The attack took place at the junction between Maaveyo Magu and Muiveyo Magu in the capital Malé.
Following the attack, Mahfooz Saeed was immediately brought to Indhira Gandi Memorial Hospital, where he underwent a three-hour operation to remove the knife which was still lodged in the left side of his head. His condition is now stable, and he is expected to recover within a week.
The attack on Mahfooz Saeed comes a week after the human rights lawyer spoke critically of the current government at a Maldivian Democratic Party rally, and a week before members of former president Nasheed's international legal team, Ms Amal Clooney and Mr Jared Genser, travel to the Maldives to meet the former president. In August 2015, Nasheed was once again detained in prison, two months after his 13-year prison sentence was commuted to house arrest due to health concerns.
