Opposition slams commission allegations against Yameen as 'political card'

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will not get involved with a criminal like Munaz, an accused in the murder case of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, and the presidential commission investigating the case is using the death as a "political card", the opposition said on Thursday.

The commission has concluded the investigation into Rilwan, who went missing in August 2014 during yameen's administration, and submitted the investigation report to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday. At a press conference held by the Death Commission at the President's Office on Thursday evening, allegations were levelled against Yameen. Thus:

PPM, PNC leadership held a press conference at the office Thursday evening to counter the death commission's claims about Yameen.

 "I don't think President Yameen will ever meet such a big criminal," PNC president Abdul Raheem Abdulla said in response to a question from Atoll Times on whether Yameen had met Munaz after Rilwan's disappearance.

Abdul Raheem said he did not accept the death commission's report, that the commission has now conducted the probe in such a way that there is no truth to the matter, and only political mileage gains to the present government. Abdul Raheem described the report as a "political report".

"So far, we haven't talked about it. This is a political commission. What this commission is saying is political," Abdul Raheem said.

He said the death commission had made allegations on Yameen for three reasons:

"This is a card to win the presidential election. Can I tell [President] Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, you can't win by playing this card," Abdul Raheem said, criticising the government.

In a statement, his legal team said that they have decided to prosecute Commission member Misbah over his remarks.

Yameen's government ended with Rilwan's investigation not being carried out. Even the accused in the case flew to war in Syria during the same regime. Asked by Atoll Times if he believed it was negligence on the part of the PPM government, Abdul Raheem replied, "I don't believe it."

Abdul Raheem cited the deaths during the current regime and the recent suicide attempt of Faisal Abubakr, an accused in the murder of his wife, while in police custody.

"Why didn't the police stop [Faisal’s suicide attemp]? Or why has this government not stopped the deaths of people who have died in different ways so far ... How many people have died since this government came to power?" Abdul Raheem said.

When asked if it was not negligence on the part of the PPM government that the accused had fled the country, Abdul Raheem said, "There may have been negligence on the part of the government agencies" if that had indeed happened. However he maintained that's not something that the person in the president's position should be held responsible for.

At the press conference held by the opposition parties, Abdul Raheem also played the statement made by the then president of the Commission and now Supreme Court Judge Husnu Suood at a press conference held by the Death Commission in September 2019. Suood had said at the time that Yameen's connection to the case could not be affirmed based on the information gathered so far in connection with Rilwan's murder.