Wednesday’s hearing in the case over the abduction of journalist Ahmed Rilwan has been cancelled.
Tuesday’s hearing in the case, where three of the state’s seven secret witnesses were to testify, was cancelled as well. The Criminal Court did not disclose a reason for the cancellation.
In a hearing held on Monday, the Court listened to the testimonies of four witnesses brought forth by the prosecution.
Two are charged with terrorism in connection with kidnapping Rilwan; Aalif Rauf and Mohamed Nooradeen, under Articles 2 (b) and 6 (b) of the former Prevention of Terrorism Act, alleging that the two had been involved in Rilwan's abduction.
The first individual to testify in court was a friend of Rilwan, who had traveled in the same ferry to Hulhumalé. While he opted to testify anonymously, he said that he met Rilwan at around 1am on the night he went missing. He said they were sitting side by side during the ferry ride.
The state had submitted names of 29 witnesses, including a number of his family members.
Aalif and Nooradeen had submitted five witnesses, to testify in their defence.
A third suspect was named as well in the case as well, Mohamed Suaid, who is reported to have died after fleeing to Syria to join the jihad there.
Journalist Rilwan was last seen in the early hours on the 8th of August 2014, and is believed to be abducted outside his apartment building in Hulhumalé. 600 days after Rilwan’s disappearance, police said that it had established links between his disappearance and an abduction reported outside his apartment that night.
Police have said that on the night of Rilwan's disappearance, they had received a report of an individual being forced into a red car in Hulhumalé, but that the car was gone by the time they reached there. Police later said the car was registered under Aalif’s name, and that it had been taken into Hulhumalé illegally.
Police had also revealed that DNA tests had been run on five strands of hair found in the trunk of the said car, and that one had matched with Rilwan's mother.
