DDCom working to submit findings in journalist's murder probe mid-year

The Presidential commission on disappearances and deaths (DDCom) is working to submit the findings of their investigation into the murder of Minivan News Journalist Ahmed Rilwan, mid-year.

This was announced by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his presidential address, delivered during the inaugural sitting of the People’s Majlis on Thursday morning.

As such, stressing that justice for forced disappearances and deaths in unknown circumstances has been delayed for longer than he hoped, the president noted that a lot of work that needs to be done to solve the complications around these cases, remain.

Highlighting that the presidential inquiry commission has been conducting the probe into the disappearance of the journalist with “utmost” priority, the president noted that over 200 individuals have been questioned by the commission to date.

The commission has also analyzed financial transactions with the assistance of a foreign financial expert, said President Solih, who noted that the commission has assured him that they will be submitting the findings by the middle of 2022.

President Solih also noted that the Prosecutor General's Office has begun appealing the cases of those who were not found guilty for the murder of Yameen Rasheed as well, with the eradication of disruptions previously faced by the Presidential commission in looking into the murder of the blogger due to the nature of the court case.

The case is currently being investigated by the commission.

The court recently proved the charges against Ismail Haisham and Ahmed Zihan, with the remaining four charged in the case found not guilty of the crime. They are Hussain Ziyad, Ismail Rasheed, Hassan Shifaz and Mohamed Dhifran.

Yameen was stabbed to death in the early hours on 23rd April 2017, in an attack that shook the nation. His body was found in the staircase of his home, with over 30 stab wounds. While his attackers were caught on CCTV footage, police had said that they had been "in disguise".

The presidential commission back in December 2018 revealed that investigations showed links between Yameen’s murder and two other high-profile murders; 2012 murder of lawmaker Dr. Afrasheem Ali and 2014 disappearance and murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The Asset Recovery Commission, one of the entities involved in the investigation of embezzlement and corruption of state assets and carries the mandate of investigating the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal, has also decided to submit their findings to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in order to begin legal proceedings.

President Solih remains hopeful that the members will be appointed to the commission as soon as the names are forwarded for parliamentary approval.

As such, he revealed that the next phase will be carried out by the newly formed ACC.

Rilwan was last seen purchasing a ticket to the Hulhumalé ferry from capital city Malé, on 8 August 2014. Two years later in 2016, the police had confirmed that Rilwan was abducted and that one of the men caught trailing Rilwan on CCTV footage had been identified as Mohamed Suaid, who was arrested but released by the Criminal Court in November 2014. He has since been pronounced dead in battle after having left to Syria shortly being released from remand.

Two men accused of abducting Rilwan were acquitted in 2018; one of these suspects is the owner of the red car believed to have been used to abduct the journalist, with investigators saying that DNA analysis of hairs lifted from the trunk of the car matched that of Rilwan’s mother.

DDCom confirmed that Rilwan was killed by an extremist group in 2019.

The commission has also linked Rilwan’s murder to two other high-profile murders in the Maldives; the 2012 murder of Ungoofaaru MP Dr. Afrasheem Ali and the 2017 murder of blogger and social media activist Yameen Rasheed.

Earlier, DDCom also sought assistance in information related to a knife they found outside of Rilwan’s apartment building in Hulhumalé. The knife is believed to have been dropped by his attackers during the abduction. Rilwan was forced inside a red car, outside of his house; back in July, DDCom released a reenactment video of the abduction.