Criminal Court sentences man to death for Maavah murder

The Criminal Court on Monday sentenced Mohamed Ibrahim to death for the murder of Moosa Ibrahim in L. Maavah last year, after conducting a re-enactment during the trial to examine how the stabbing took place.

Moosa Ibrahim, 29, of Nalahiya, L. Maavah, died following an altercation on the island on 28 July 2025. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Mohamed Ibrahim, 29, of Asaree Manzil, HDh. Nolhivaranfaru, was subsequently charged with intentional murder using a sharp object. He had also entered into a plea agreement with the prosecution.

According to the judgment delivered by Criminal Court Chief Judge Adam Mohamed, Mohamed admitted during the proceedings that he assaulted Moosa but maintained that he had not intended to kill him.

The court rejected the plea agreement after determining that his position on intent did not amount to an admission of all elements of the murder charge.

As part of the proceedings, the court conducted a re-enactment to determine whether Mohamed's account of the incident was consistent with the injuries that caused Moosa's death.

The re-enactment was carried out with Mohamed's consent and in the presence of a forensic pathologist.

According to the judgment, the court decided to use demonstrative evidence after Mohamed did not provide clear answers to several questions about how the incident occurred.

The court also sought to compare his account with the injuries recorded in the medico-legal report, crime scene report and post-mortem examination.

A person of approximately the same height as Moosa was used during the re-enactment.

As Mohamed had given differing accounts about whether he held the knife in his right or left hand, the actions were demonstrated using both hands.

The court also examined different versions of Mohamed's account of the victim's position at the time of the stabbing. These included his statements that the stabbing occurred from behind as Moosa's shirt became loose and that the shirt was shaken while facing him.

The forensic pathologist gave evidence after observing the re-enactment.

According to the expert testimony, blood vessels in Moosa's neck were severed by a sharp object, resulting in blood loss that caused his death.

Both of Moosa's legal heirs sought qisas, or retaliation in kind, against Mohamed.

The Criminal Court subsequently sentenced Mohamed to death in accordance with the heirs' request.