A hearing in the abduction case of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, has been scheduled for Tuesday.
The hearing is scheduled for 3pm, at the Criminal Court. A hearing was scheduled for Monday as well but was cancelled without a reason.
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 directly involved in Rilwan's abduction. A third suspect was named in the case as well, Mohamed Suaid, who is reported to have died after fleeing to Syria to join the jihad there.
The last hearing in the case was held on the 1st of this month, where the court heard the testimony of Rilwan’s mother, as well as seven siblings from his mother’s side. Issues had emerged at the hearing, after prosecutors requested to submit the name of an additional witness.
Journalist Rilwan was last seen in the early hours on 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.
