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Yameen Rasheed murder hearing cancelled for ‘administrative reasons’

An open hearing in the murder trial of Yameen Rasheed has yet to be held.

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The criminal court Wednesday cancelled a hearing in the murder trial of slain blogger Yameen Rasheed for “administrative reasons.”

It was scheduled for 3pm, but was cancelled in the morning.

Court spokesman Ibrahim Zahid told the Maldives Independent it was cancelled due to “administrative reasons” but refused to give details. He said another hearing would be scheduled “as soon as possible.”

Seven suspects have been charged for the blogger’s murder.

Ismail Haisham Rasheed, Ahmed Zihan Ismail, Ismail Rasheed, Mohamed Dhifran, Hassan Shifaz, and Hussain Ziyad are charged with felony murder and remain in state custody. The offence carries the death penalty.

A seventh suspect, Mohamed Yashfau Rasheed, was charged with aiding and abetting murder and transferred to house arrest.

An open hearing in the murder trial has yet to be held. It has been more than a year since the case was sent for prosecution. Preliminary hearings were held behind closed doors from last September to April this year.

The first open hearing had been scheduled for June 7, but it was cancelled 15 minutes before it was due to begin and rescheduled for today.

The hearing’s cancellation was condemned.

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