Yameen Rasheed's family expresses concern over lack of progress in investigation

Hussain Rasheed, father of the late writer Yameen Rasheed has expressed concern over lack of progress into his son’s murder, reiterating the family’s call to enlist international investigative bodies in the investigation into his killing.

Yameen’s father traveled to Colombo, Sri Lanka, earlier this week, where he met with foreign dignitaries, as well as human rights activists and organizations and journalists.

In a statement released on Saturday, Yameen’s father expressed concern over the lack of progress in the investigation, despite it being days since his son was killed and police revealing they have identified the culprits.

“While it has been days since Yameen’s assassination, and while police have revealed that they have identified the culprits, it is concerning that police are yet to apprehend any suspects and make any progress in the investigation”, reads the statement.

He further noted that he had stressed the importance of an independent investigation with the inclusion of international investigative bodies, as the family believes that a trustable investigation can only be conducted then.

In the statement, Hussain Rasheed also called on President Abdulla Yameen and the Maldives Police Service “to enlist international experts in the investigation into my son’s murder”, stressing on the need for a speedy investigation.

One of the most prominent bloggers in the country and pro-democracy activist, Yameen Rasheed was stabbed to death in a brutal attack, early morning on the 23rd of April. Prior to his killing, Yameen had received multiple death threats, which he had reported to the authorities. Yameen’s killing shows police’s failure to protect Yameen’s life, with Amnesty International calling on the government to investigate the police’s failure.