Court acquits minor charged over 2017 murder

Juvenile Court has acquitted the then-17-year-old charged in the 2017 murder of Mohamed Anas.

The 25-year-old was stabbed to death by a group of masked assailants on 31 July 2017. CCTV footage shows him running into Litus Service Center the Henveiru ward of the capital city, in an attempt to flee his attackers; the brutal attack took place inside the garage and is caught on video as well.

The state had pressed charges against eight suspects in relation to the murder including the minor; he was charged with first degree murder together with two others while the remaining were charged with accessory to murder.

Since the suspect was a minor when the charge was raised, authorities had not disclosed any details regarding him. However, by the time the Juvenile Court delivered his verdict on Sunday, he had turned 20.

Noting that the suspect had denied the charge against him, an official from the Juvenile Court said that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. He further said that the prosecutors could not prove the defendant's presence at the scene of the crime, and that while a CCTV video of the attack was analyzed during trial, that the features identified to that of the defendant were too common for the court to declare him guilty.

While the state was unable to prove his presence at the time of the attack, the three witnesses called to court by the defence corroborated that he was with them in the capital’s suburban district Hulhumale’ that whole day.