High Court Judge involved in forged documents connected to Rilwan's death, resigns

Hassan Ali, the High Court Judge accused of being involved in the making of falsified documents in the case of abducted and consecutively murdered Minivan News Journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

In a statement released following Judge Ali’s resignation, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) revealed that his resignation comes at a time the judge was summoned to a hearing by the commission, in connection to the allegations pinned against the judge. This was to be the last hearing scheduled in connection to the case.

Judge Ali was suspended by JSC in connection to Rilwan’s murder case on 16th September 2019.

His resignation comes at a time he had been under suspension for about 10 months.

The former judge is accused of working with two officers of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) Intelligence Unit to produce a passport and fabricate evidence that made it seem like the missing journalist had left the country to participate in a conflict overseas, during 2014.

Then, Ali served as the Immigration Controller and is alleged of having attempted to report false information regarding the murdered journalist, through a news outlet.

This was proven through the report publicized by the Presidential Inquiry Commission on Deaths and Enforced Disappearances.

During April this year, the commission revealed new findings in the case, through the forensic analysis report.

The commission was established to fulfill President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's electoral pledge to seek out the truth behind unprecedented murders and disappearances, Rilwan was last seen in August 2014, and police confirmed his abduction two years later in 2016. The inquiry commission in September 2019, revealed that Rilwan was killed by an extremist group.