A year ago today, our brother, friend and fellow reporter disappeared

Today, August 8, marks one year to the day our brother, friend and fellow journalist Ahmed Rilwan disappeared. He is believed to have been abducted, and is now feared dead. The police and other responsible agencies of the state have made very little effort to find him and bring perpetrators to justice.

Rilwan was last seen entering the Hulhumalé ferry terminal in Male at 12:44 am on August 8, 2014. An eyewitness, who sat next to Rilwan on the 1:00am ferry to Hulhumalé, said Rilwan did not board the bus upon his arrival on the suburb island approximately 25 minutes later. Rilwan’s neighbors reported to the police seeing a man forced into a car at knifepoint between 1:30 – 2:00 am right in front of his apartment building. A knife was dropped on the ground and recovered by the police within the hour.

Police continue to maintain that there is no conclusive evidence linking the reported abduction to Rilwan’s disappearance. No mention is made of the knife.