Hussain Rasheed, further of murdered blogger Yameen Rasheed, has taken his son’s case to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Rasheed spoke at Wednesday’s session of the 35th UN Human Rights Council, where he reiterated the family’s call for an international investigation into his son’s death.
He also noted that Yameen’s best friend, journalist Ahmed Rilwan was abducted in August 2014, adding that police’s refusal to properly investigate the case shows that government’s involvement in hiding the perpetrators.
“Previous murders have all gone unsolved, in August 2014 Yameen’s best friend journalist Ahmed Rilwan was abducted. Police refuses to properly investigate the case, and the way they treated Rilwan’s family shows that the government is actively protecting the preparators,” said Rasheed.
Initially, police did not confirm whether there were any suspicious activities surrounding Rilwan’s disappearance. However, about 600 days after his disappearance, police revealed that the journalist had been abducted, adding that they had established links between Rilwan’s disappearance and an abduction reported outside his apartment building that night.
Noting that Yameen was “relentless in his fight to find justice for his friend,” Rasheed said that his son’s voice “has been silenced too”.
He added that an international investigation into his son’s death “is imperative”.
“I believe that only active international engagement looking into the attacks of freedom of expression in the Maldives could provide justice for my beloved son and others like him,” added Yameen’s father.
Yameen Rasheed, one of the most prominent bloggers in the country and a pro-democracy activist, was stabbed to death early morning on April 23.
Prior to his killing, Yameen had reported multiple death threats to the police, who failed to take any action. His family has filed a case at the Civil Couty, seeking to prove police negligence in Yameen’s murder as they had ‘failed to provide him protection’.
