By ManoReporters Staff Writer
The Inspector General of the Liberian National Police (LNP), Gregory Coleman, has moved to calm tensions with an apology to the Muslim community for the maltreatment of a hijab lady.
The woman was reportedly beaten and her headscarf, known as Hijab in Arabic, removed by a police officer who was responding to an alleged electricity theft case.
A video footage of incident shared online showed the police officer beating the woman and removing her Hijab. It sparked condemnations, especially within the Muslim community. A small group of people supporting the woman protested in front of the headquarters of the LNP on Thursday, July 24, leading to clashes with some residents who felt the police officer did no wrong.
But IGP Coleman said the removal of the woman’s headscarf amounted to removing her clothes.
“A woman wearing a hijab is a sign of modesty and a sign of religious identity. The removal of that hijab is equal to removing that woman’s clothes,” he said during a meeting with members of the Muslim community. The meeting which was also attended by members of the Liberia Electricity Corporation was held at the police headquarters following the protests.
“As Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, while it’s true we will investigate this matter 100%, it happened in plain view. We can see the woman’s hijab was removed, and for that, I’m here to say that we are sorry,” he added.
His apology, however, angered some other Liberians, who felt the police chief failed his officer without investigation into the incident.
But according to the police chief, not every issue is addressed via investigation.
“There are certain things that don’t require investigation. The intentional removal of the hijab is what I’m here to address,” he stressed.
Coleman however assured that investigations were ongoing on the issue.
The LNP in a statement published on its official facebook page said the police chief told the Muslim leaders that what happened in the video wasn’t a religious matter.
“The Inspector General reiterated that the matter captured in the video is not religious in nature, and assured that a full investigation, guided by review of the original video footage is already ongoing through the Professional Standards Division,” it said.
