President Yameen stopped probe on Rilwan's disappearance: Ex-VP Adeeb

Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has said that President Abdulla Yameen stopped thes cabinet from investigating the disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The jailed former vice president of the current administration said this in a press statement released through his legal team after the suspects in Rilwan’s alleged kidnapping four years ago were recently acquitted.

In the statement, Adeeb said that the Criminal Court’s verdict shows that authorities had failed to properly investigate the case.

Adeeb also recalled the emotional plea from Rilwan’s mother when he met with the family during his time as President Yameen’s tourism minister when Rilwan’s disappearance was still being investigated. Adeeb said that during the meeting he had vowed to do ‘whatever it took’ to find Rilwan.

While Rilwan was reportedly kidnapped at knife point in front of his apartment building in Hulhumale’, Adeeb said that, at the time, he had addressed his concern to the authorities over the police’s failure to immediately investigate the missing person’s report and over the lack of a proper investigation.

Adeeb said he had also asked the lawmakers to sign the family’s petition for a proper investigation and to submit it to the parliament.

He also noted that the work being done by the cabinet had been ‘overruled’ by President Yameen in their official Viber group, for reasons he did not explain, adding that the ministers would be able to verify this.

In the statement, Adeeb demanded the government to take responsibility for the lack of justice in Rilwan’s disappearance, due to President Yameen’s obstruction as well as negligence in the investigation.

Responding to claims that the suspects in the kidnapping case fled the country while Adeeb was temporarily heading Immigration, he said that the suspects were allowed out of the country after the court released their passports and that he did not personally handle the work of Immigration while he was temporarily in charge.

Adeeb said that even after he was jailed, he had answered questions from Rilwan’s family through his lawyers.

He also said that he had unrestrainedly criticized the investigation while in government and had also urged senior officials to not make the case political and to conduct a major investigation.

Adeeb denied claims of having any information on Rilwan’s disappearance and said that if he did, he would have already been charged over it.