Yameen Rasheed’s family lament closed hearings

The family of murdered blogger Yameen Rasheed has expressed concern over the closed hearings of the seven defendants charged with his death.

Yameen, a prominent blogger and Internet activist, was stabbed to death in April and was found with multiple stab wounds in the stairway of his apartment building in Malé. He died soon after being taken to hospital.

Prior to his murder, the 29-year-old had reported receiving multiple death threats to the police. He posted screenshots of the threats he received via text messages and on the Internet on Twitter and Facebook. His killing prompted an outpouring of grief online.

Yumna Rasheed, Yameen’s sister, told the Maldives Independent her family had previously requested to make the trials open to the public and media.