Yameen Rasheed’s Murder

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT

Undisclosed Findings of Investigation Leads to Mistrust

23 April 2025

MALDIVES – Today marks 8 years since Yameen Rasheed, a human rights defender and blogger, was murdered in the stairwell of his home in Male’. His murder followed repeated death threats, reports of which the Maldives Police Service deliberately ignored.

We, the undersigned civil society groups in the Maldives, call on President Mohamed Muizzu and Attorney General Ahmed Usham to deliver their promises to disclose the findings of the investigation conducted by the Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom). We further call on the government to fully investigate all actors involved in the obstruction of justice into Yameen Rasheed’s murder and take lawful action against them.

The DDCom was established by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih under the Presidential Commissions Act. The Commission failed to bring any suspects of the murder to justice, in addition to failing over 27 cases assigned to them. The DDCom refused to disclose their findings to the families of victims and civil society at the end of their tenure in May 2024, citing executive orders from the President’s Office. After the DDCom was disbanded by President Muizzu, the government of Maldives assured the public that the report of the DDCom would be made public.

Consecutive governments and politicians have used the murder of Yameen Rasheed and the enforced disappearance of Ahmed Rilwan Abdullah to garner political capital for the purpose of winning election votes. We reiterate calls from the last eight years to hold perpetrators accountable and establish the rule of law in the Maldives.