Court issues additional 15 days for Yameen Rasheed murder suspects
Police said that the court had give an additional 15 days for all three suspects
The three suspects named by police are Ismail Rasheed, Ismail Haisham Rasheed and Ahmed Zihan Ismail
Criminal Court has on Thursday, extended the remand of the three suspects in the murder of blogger Yameen Rasheed.
Police said that the court had extended their remand by an additional 15 days.
On Sunday, police publicized photos of three individuals saying that they had 'actively' participated in Yameen Rasheed's murder. The three are; Ismail Rasheed, 25, Maafannu Thaaf, Malé; Ismail Haisham Rasheed, 21 Henveiru Annaarumaage, Malé; and Ahmed Zihan Ismail, 22, Maafannu Irasmik, Malé. All three have previous criminal records, according to police.
Since then, one of the families have come out with various accusations against the Maldives Police Service, including that officers had tried to force Ismail Rasheed to give a false testimony against the other two individuals. Police have refuted these claims.
Police said that it had analyzed over 1,850 hours of CCTV footage from various areas in Malé City, and over 40,000 photographs of individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. It said that all suspects connected to the murder have been identified with enough evidence for prosecution, and that cases against the three individuals will be forwarded to the Prosecutor General's Office.
Stabbed to death in the early hours on April 23, Yameen Rasheed's murder had sparked a public outcry.
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 Court, seeking to prove police negligence in Yameen’s murder as they had ‘failed to provide him protection’.
