High Court declines to detain accused over Anas murder
Anas, from Fenfiazge, R. Meedhoo, was attacked and killed on 31 July 2017.
The High Court has once again decided not to detain the accused individuals in the case involving the murder of Mohamed Anas, who was killed inside the Litus Service Centre in Malé in July 2017.
Anas, from Fenfiazge, R. Meedhoo, was attacked and killed on 31 July 2017. Seven individuals were charged in relation to the case under two categories:
Charged with intentional homicide:
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Afrah Abdul Razzaq
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Ahmed Zayan
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Usman Shareef
Charged with participation in intentional homicide:
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Junaid Abdulla
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Hassan Mahfouz
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Simah Moosa
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Mohamed Shaz
On 25 February 2024, the Criminal Court acquitted all seven defendants. The Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the ruling on 16 May 2024 and requested the High Court to remand the accused in custody pending the outcome of the appeal.
However, the High Court decided not to detain the accused. The matter was then taken to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the High Court had made its decision based on factors not aligned with the legal requirements. The Supreme Court ordered the High Court to re-evaluate the request for detention.
Following the Supreme Court’s directive, the High Court held a new hearing and concluded that there were no legal grounds to detain the accused at the appeal stage. The court’s ruling stated the following key points:
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Requests for remand in custody during appeal proceedings must be considered within the legal framework that governs the appeal stage.
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Appeals are limited to identifying and correcting legal errors made by the lower court, not retrying the entire case.
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Evaluating evidence presented during the trial is not within the scope of the appeal stage.
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The existence of sufficient evidence to support allegations must be considered within the context of appeal, but such details have not been submitted by the state.
The High Court's decision was unanimous. The bench was composed of Justice Mohamed Shaneez Abdulla (Chairperson), Justice Mohamed Faisal, and Justice Mohamed Saleem.
Additionally, the only individual who was convicted and sentenced in the case—a minor at the time—had his sentence commuted by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
