The Presidential Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances (DDCom) has called to speed up the trial on the murder of blogger Yameen Rasheed.
Yameen Rasheed was brutally stabbed to death on April 23, 2017, by a group of assailants near the stairwell of his residence in Male’. Six people were charged with his murder, following the conclusion of the police investigation. However, the case remains in court as four years pass since the murder.
In a press release issued on the fourth anniversary of the murder, DDCom stated it acknowledges and participates in the grief of Yameen Rasheed’s family and friends following the brutal murder. The commission called on the relevant authorities to speed up the trial, and to deliver justice for Yameen Rasheed’s family.
The trial on the murder of Yameen Rasheed has been proceeding at a slow pace, which the Criminal Court attributes to the actions of defence lawyers. Some of the witnesses presented by the state have delivered their statements in the trial. Witnesses have indicated that discussions on murdering Yameen Rasheed began in 2016 at two different mosques in Male’. The witnesses stated all six people charged by the state were involved in the discussions.