As Maldivian citizens, we've all been brought up with the notion that we actually have some rights, and that we are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, with the Maldives crime situation the way it is, the politicians have whittled down our rights to a very slender minimum. At the same time, the police have been given additional rights that would likely surprise or even shock the average person.
The
end result of all this is an unfortunate lop-sided justice system that
actually favors experienced criminals, while punishing the innocent.
This is antithetical to the original purpose of our rights. The rights
we think are intended to protect the innocent while punishing the guilty
with a fair hand of justice.
In our current
system, experienced criminals learn the inside secrets of the police and
prosecutorial system as they get arrested and hassled again and again.
They build up a resistance to police investigation and interrogation
tactics, and are then less likely to become incarcerated. As they gain
experience, they don't make the same mistakes when talking with the
police, and become far more aware of their rights than the average
citizen.
As a result of this ''on the job
training'' of criminals, the police have constantly complained that
criminals have too many rights, and that they have too few powers. The
media portrays criminals getting off on ''technicalities'', enraging the
average citizen. The politicians, at the behest of the average citizen,
have gotten into action stripping away rights, and providing more
powers to the police. As an average law abiding citizen, this seems like
a good idea. Fight crime and all that. The problem is that this
reduction of our rights comes at a significant price.
That
price is that innocent citizens are woefully unaware of their rights,
and the powers and tactics of the police. Should some unfortunate soul
get caught up in the justice system they are likely to be eaten alive.
An amazing number of innocent citizens have had their lives ruined by
erroneous or malicious prosecution. In fact, some police interrogation
tactics are so effective that innocent people often confess to crimes
they did not commit.
