Yameen Rasheed’s murder: Family left clueless as presidential commission wraps up
23 April 2024
As we mark seven devastating years to the ruthless murder of young blogger and human rights defender Yameen Rasheed (1988 – 2017), the Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCOM) formed by former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will wrap up its work on 31 May 2024.
The DDCOM has so far been unsuccessful in indicting anyone on suspicion of Yameen Rasheed’s murder or commissioning the crime. Moreover, whether the DDCOM has successfully indicted any suspects on any of the 27 cases mandated for investigation by the commission in 2018 is unknown. Findings of the investigations have not been disclosed to families.
“I firmly believe we have the right to receive information about our brother’s murder. The DDCOM has a moral and legal duty to provide us with a report of their findings, even if they could not bring Yameen any justice. We are disappointed that the DDCOM has failed to achieve their goals. We had high hopes when President Solih promised us justice from the podiums of his campaign trail. We have been left in the dark.,” said Aishath Rasheed, Yameen Rasheed’s sister and the ADM’s Chairperson.
We call on the DDCOM to disclose vital information about each of the cases they were assigned and remind the commission of international obligations of the Maldives to the right to freedom of information and transparency.
Yameen Rasheed will be remembered for the kind, generous and brilliant writer he was. On this day marking seven years since he was brutally taken away from us, we wish to memorialise and remember his blog and legacy – The Daily Panic. His words brought us the truth and made it bearable through his witty and sharp prose we all admire.
ENDS.