Inquiry commission seeks two suspects in Afrasheem murder

The presidential commission on unresolved murders and disappearances on Monday appealed for public assistance in locating two suspects in the October 2012 murder of lawmaker Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The inquiry commission shared grainy video footage of a man waiting on a motorbike and taking off when a second man arrives. It was a surveillance shift change near Afrasheem’s house in Malé, the commission confirmed in response to tweets.

The public was urged to share information about the two men via phone or email.

Dr Afrasheem, a moderate religious scholar, was stabbed to death at the stairwell of his home on the night of October 1, 2012.

Police claimed the killing was politically motivated but no charges have been raised over the alleged funding.

Hussain Humam, a young man charged over the murder, is the only person convicted so far.

The deaths and disappearances commission was mandated with conducting “a free, independent and trustworthy investigation” into cases between January 1, 2012 and November 17, 2018 that were “not properly investigated for various reasons.”

At a press briefing earlier this month, the commission’s chair, Husnu Suood, said experts from the FBI were due to arrive in February to provide assistance with crime scene investigation and data and audio-visual forensics.

The commission has also accepted services offered by the Western Australia Police Force and an international NGO as well as Hassan Ugail, Professor of Visual Computing at the School of Engineering and Informatics at the University of Bradford.

Without disclosing details, Suood revealed that the commission has established links between the murders of lawmaker Afrasheem Ali and liberal blogger Yameen Rasheed and the abduction of Maldives Independent journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The three cases were connected and followed “the same pattern,” he said.

Mi video gai faahaga kohfaivaa 2 meehunnakee mi commission in balamundhaa massala akaa gulhigen hoadhamundhaa 2 mehunneve. Mi 2 meehunnaa behey evves mauloomaatheh libivadaigenfaivaa nama mi commission ah hissaa kurevvun edhen. Gulhuvvaanee Ph: 3015794. E: [email protected] pic.twitter.com/UMmEo3KTkh

— Commission on Disappearances and Deaths (@DdcomMdv) January 21, 2019