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Ihavandhoo restrictions on expat workers unlawful: LGA

Fathmath Shaahunaz
20 June 2017, MVT 13:00
People fishing from the lagoon of H.A. Ihavandhoo. PHOTO: AHMED AURAF/MIHAARU
Fathmath Shaahunaz
20 June 2017, MVT 13:00

Local Government Authority (LGA) declared Monday that the strict restrictions imposed on expatriate workers by the island council of Haa Alif atoll Ihavandhoo are invalid.

Ihavandhoo Island Council issued strict limitations and rules against resident expat workers in the island after a local man, Ismail Umar, was found murdered in Ihavandhoo’s ice plant last Friday. Police reported that a Bangladeshi national, who was employed at the ice plant, has confessed to the crime.

In the wake of the arrest, the island council announced strict actions against expatriate workers as Ismail Umar is the second local to have been killed by an expatriate in Ihavandhoo, leading to heightened fear and anxiety among local residents. The rules include a curfew at 10:00 p.m. and restricting expatriates from gathering in groups except between 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays, fishing in any area under the jurisdiction of the island council, collecting coconuts, firewood and other such materials from the woods, entering the landfill unless to dispose waste, and attending events held in the island without invitation.

However, LGA pronounced the restrictions as unlawful and therefore invalid. Meanwhile, the parental body of councils stated on its Facebook page that Ihavandhoo Island Council has been informed to instead collaborate with Police to ensure public safety.

Ihavandhoo Island Council’s decision has also sparked public outrage and criticism, with many people taking to social media to call out the injustice of punishing all expatriate workers for crimes committed by a few.

Police have arrested five Bangladeshi expatriates in connection to Ismail Umar’s murder, including the main suspect who confessed to killing him. Police have also disclosed that they have found the knife used as a murder weapon and the clothes Ismail Umar was wearing at the time of the crime.

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