Rilwan murder report still under review 4 years after completion
Shehenaz said the family had made repeated attempts to meet President Mohamed Muizzu since he took office but had not been granted a meeting.
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A report into the abduction and murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan remains under review nearly four years after it was completed, Attorney General Ahmed Usham said on Sunday night.
The Commission on Deaths and Disappearances submitted its investigation report on Rilwan’s case to then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on 15 December 2022.
The report has not been made public or shared with Rilwan’s family. At the time, the commission said it had gathered sufficient evidence against those whose cases were referred for prosecution. Those accused in connection with the case are currently free.
Rilwan’s family and civil society organisations have repeatedly called for the report to be released. His family has spent 11 years seeking justice over his abduction and killing. Rilwan’s father, Abdulla, died in 2024 without seeing the case resolved.
Rilwan’s sister, Fathimath Shehenaz, raised the issue at the “Ahaa” public forum on Sunday night, asking the government to provide the family with the report.
Shehenaz said the family had made repeated attempts to meet President Mohamed Muizzu since he took office but had not been granted a meeting.
She said President Muizzu had previously told journalists that the report was being reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office. Following that statement, the family wrote to Attorney General Usham requesting a meeting, but had received no response after four months.
“We, as the family, want a way for the report to be provided to us. We wanted to meet and discuss this, which is why we tried to contact you,” Shehenaz said.
Responding to the question, Usham apologised for not having met the family and said a dedicated team at the Attorney General’s Office was reviewing the report.
He said the review was now “close to completion”.
According to Usham, there are different versions of the reports, and the review includes determining which version or information can be made public.
He said one of the issues under consideration was that the reports contain intelligence information from the Maldives Police Service and the Maldives National Defence Force. The Attorney General’s Office therefore has to determine which information can legally be disclosed.
Usham said he expected the review to be completed within about a month, after which he would submit his advice to President Muizzu.
He said the President would ultimately decide how to proceed with sharing the report with Rilwan’s family.
“I hope the work of reviewing these reports can be completed within the next month,” Usham said. “Once that is completed, I will submit my advice on the matter to the President. I believe the President will then decide how to proceed regarding sharing the report with the family.”
Rilwan disappeared in August 2014. The Commission on Deaths and Disappearances, established on the first day of Solih’s presidency to investigate unresolved deaths and disappearances, later concluded that Rilwan had been abducted and killed.
According to findings previously announced by the commission, Rilwan was followed on the night of 10 August 2014 before two men forced him into a car in Hulhumalé while he was on his way home. Three people were in the car, while another three followed on motorcycles.
The commission said Rilwan was later transferred to a dinghy and taken to a fishing vessel, where he was killed and his body disposed of at sea. It said six people were involved and that information received by investigators indicated all six later died in Syria.
The commission also said those involved had monitored Rilwan and gathered information about him for several days before his abduction. It further said police had received information at the time about a group seeking to target or stop individuals for a specific purpose.
The commission investigated several unresolved deaths and disappearances before it was later dissolved. Among the cases it investigated and referred for prosecution were those of Rilwan and blogger Yameen Rasheed.
Those charged in connection with Rilwan’s case were later freed after the courts found there was insufficient evidence to convict them.
