Maldives Police Service have launched an investigation into why the former governments had not done adequate work to locate and extradite 1988 coup leader, Abdulla Luthufee back to Maldives after he fled the country.
Assisted by armed foreign mercenaries, Luthufee led the attacks on Maldives on 3rd November 1988 that killed 19 Maldivians. Charged and convicted for treason, Luthufee received the death penalty for his crimes. However, then President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom lightened his sentence to life imprisonment.
Luthufee was allowed to travel to neighboring Sri Lanka on 16th January 2010 for medical purposes during former president Mohamed Nasheed's administration. However, he went into hiding during the trip and has been residing in Sri Lanka for the past nine years as a fugitive.
In a recent development, Luthufee voluntarily presented himself to the Maldivian Embassy in Sri Lanka on 1st May 2019, after which he has been residing at the embassy until now. Authorities did not disclose his presence at the embassy until last Monday, after rumors that the embassy was harboring Luthufee made its rounds on social media, prompting public criticism on the matter.
While arrangements to extradite Luthufee are being made, authorities have blamed the delay in returning Luthufee back to Maldives on incomplete documentation and other processes.
A statement released by the police on Sunday read that between 2012 and 2016, whereabouts of Luthufee were almost confirmed by the police and heads the police service were notified accordingly. However, no steps were taken to secure Luthufee, the statement read. The Police Professional Standard Command has now launched a probe on the reason behind the inaction on the order of police commissioner Mohamed Hameed.
The police further said while Luthufee voluntarily turned himself in to the Maldivian Embassy expressing a wish to continuing serving his sentence, the police, in liaison with the Foreign Ministry began immediate efforts to arrange his transfer back to Maldives.
Currently, clearance from Sri Lankan authorities are being sought to determine if Luthufee is wanted for any crimes in Sri Lanka, or if he is a subject in any official investigations as he has been living in Sri lanka illegally for nearly a decade, said the police.
While the police are probing the former government's negligence in locating Luthufee, it was former Home Minister Umar Naseer that first spoke of Luthufee's presence at the Maldivian embassy. It was only after Umar's revelation that the authorities confirmed that Luthufee was indeed at the embassy.
