The presidential inquiry commission on murders and disappearances has stated that they have finished investigating some major cases, but are unable to file for prosecution.
Commission head Husnu Suood said that they are investigating 27 cases with the help of international experts and that they will disclose their findings at future news conferences.
However, Suood said that since the presidential commissions have no legal authority, they are unable to send the cases for prosecution due to the criminal procedure, which states that only investigative authorities recognized by the state can file for prosecution.
Suood said that the presidential commissions need to have the necessary legal powers to forward their cases quickly.
The bill to empower the presidential commissions have been rejected from the parliament’s agenda four times. The speaker has stated that the bill was returned to the committee after it claimed that some of the details of the bill had been changed after they approved it.
The bill is now at the committee on independent institutions and committee chair Riyaz Rasheed has said that they will forward the bill to the floor before April 15.
The presidential commission on murders and disappearances has re-opened investigations into the abduction and disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, and the murder of parliamentarian and religious scholar Dr. Afrasheem Ali and blogger Yameen Rasheed.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih formed the commission on murders and disappearances and the commission on corruption and asset recovery on November 17, 2018.