High court overturns acquittal in 2012 murder

The high court has found a man guilty for the 2012 murder of Ali ‘Tholhi Pele’ Shifan, after overturning a criminal court acquittal.

Mohamed Shaifan was sentenced to death on Thursday.

The appeals court ruled that traces of Shaifan’s DNA found under the victim’s nails and testimony by eye witnesses, some who claimed to have seen Shaifan attack Shifan with a knife, and others who saw Shaifan at the murder scene, was sufficient for a guilty verdict.

The court however upheld the acquittal of two others who were also charged over the murder, ruling that eyewitnesses testimony implicating Mohamed Mishan and Abdulla Thilmeez were not sufficient to prove they attacked Shifan.