Two found guilty of blogger's murder, appeal case at High Court
The case was appealed on Sunday
Blogger Yameen Rasheed
Two individuals charged in connection with the brutal murder of blogger and human rights activist Yameen Rasheed, have appealed their case.
The case was appealed at the High Court on Sunday.
The Criminal Court found Ismail Haisham and Ahmed Zihan guilty of the charges raised against them and issued a verdict earlier. However, the remaining four suspects were not found guilty of the charges. They are Hussain Ziyad native to Kolhufushi island in Meemu atoll, Ismail Rasheed and Hassan Shifaz native to Malé City and Mohamed Dhifran, native to Gadhdhoo island in Gaaf Dhaal atoll.
While the state has appealed the case of Mohamed Dhifran and Ismail Rasheed, the state did not have enough evidence to appeal the cases against Hussain Ziyad and Hassan Shifaz, in connection with the murder.
The suspects who were found guilty of the charges raised against them, were slapped with lifelong imprisonment. However, since they had already spent four years, eight months and 11 days in confinement, the sentence has since been reduced to 20 years, three months and 19 days.
Yameen Rasheed was stabbed to death in the early hours on 23 April 2017 in an attack that shook the nation. His body was found on the staircase of his residence, with over 30 stab wounds. While his attackers were caught on CCTV footage, police had said that they had been "in disguise".
The state charged six individuals with first-degree murder over Yameen's death on 30 July 2017; Ismail Haisham Rasheed, Hussain Ziyad, Ismail Rasheed, Hassan Shifaz, Mohamed Dhifran, and Ahmed Zihan Ismail.
The presidential commission on enforced disappearances and murders 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.
While Yameen had received multiple death threats prior to the fatal attack, they were reported to authorities but to no avail. Hence, his family has accused police of negligence.
