Both defendants were found guilty of murdering Filipino nurse Mary Grace, an IGMH nurse killed in October 2021. The Criminal Court convicted her husband, Marvin Vargas, of intentional murder, and his Maldivian lover Haleemath Lamha Abdul Rahman – both of whom were also nurses at IGMH – of complicity in the murder and of exercising unauthorised control over another's property. Both had pleaded not guilty. The court found that Mary was killed on October 19, 2021 at a flat in Malé in a premeditated attack. Marvin's claim she had taken her own life was contradicted by the postmortem and other evidence. The judge found the motive was that Marvin and Lamha wanted to marry and Mary was the obstacle, citing recovered messages between them, including deleted texts in which Lamha is said to have described to Marvin how to inject substances found at her home. One message referred to obtaining a death certificate "if widow." Sentencing was deferred to July 1 at the defendants' request. Both face at least 10 years in prison.
A presidential decree was gazetted with 19 projects to be carried out under a "public interest" policy with a combined minimum investment of US$ 236.25 million (MVR 3.64 billion). Designated under the Tourism Act, they are: five tourism and civil-aviation projects (US$ 25 million), five homeland-security and defence projects (US$ 155 million), four housing and infrastructure projects (US$ 19 million), one youth-empowerment project (US $20 million), and four climate and environment projects (US $19.25 million). Named projects include coastal tourism developments, building domestic airports, land reclamation for "Hope Island" and developing the Central Prison Complex. The list includes projects tied to the government's campaign pledges, particularly in tourism and housing.
The government's digital transformation bill was designed to move the country to electronic voting, opposition MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa 'Gapo' alleged as debate began in parliament. The ruling party rejected the claim. The government said the "Maldives 2.0 Digital Transformation Bill" provides a legal framework to digitise state services. But the MDP MP for Hanimaadhoo claimed it was groundwork for e-voting at the 2028 presidential election and a means to "steal votes." He argued the bill leaves much to be set out in regulations made under it, through which a switch to e-voting could be effected. PNC MPs rejected the claim outright: Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau said the bill contained nothing about e-voting and accused Gapo of lying, while Maafannu West MP Mohamed Musthafa said e-voting was "not the president's thinking" and not something the party wanted. The bill would make Maldives Digital Service, which operates under the home ministry, one of the most powerful institutions in the country, handling the digital identity system, a sovereign cloud holding the state's critical data and citizens' personal information, a national citizen portal and a data exchange platform. Under the bill, the new body sits under the home ministry, the home minister answers to parliament for it, and the president appoints and removes its head, the Commissioner for Digital Technology, with no parliamentary role. Information held by the office could be disclosed only under a court order. Opposition members raised broader concerns about the bill.
Moosa Asham Shareef, a 21-year-old arrested on Sunday over an alleged assault on reclaimed land in Farukolhufushi, Hulhumalé Phase 2, was remanded in custody for five days by the Criminal Court. Asham is accused of assaulting Ismail Abdul Raheem 'Isu,' a director at the state-owned Housing Development Corporation. Isu was arrested in 2022 in connection with the murders of Ahmed Rilwan and Yameen Rasheed, but the charges were dismissed by the court in November 2023 after it ruled there was insufficient evidence.
International Yoga Day was marked across the Maldives with more than 700 participants, the largest turnout the country has seen for the event. The celebration came after many in senior government positions had spoken out against yoga as an act of shirk. When Yoga Day was marked at the Galolhu Stadium in 2022, there were protests and unrest by those who called it exercise modelled on Hindu religious practices; people broke into the ground and attacked some participants. Several religious scholars were charged with inciting discord and unrest over the incident, but the charges were later withdrawn.
Residents of Molhadhoo, an island with fewer than 300 residents, staged a protest on Saturday during a beach cleanup to mark World Ocean Day urging the government to address severe beach erosion that worsened following harbour development in 2023. Council President Abdul Muhusin warned that, at the current rate of erosion, waves could soon reach homes and uproot coconut palms, adding that repeated requests sent by the council to the central government had gone unanswered. Children and elderly residents gathered on the beach holding placards calling on the government not to neglect the small island community.
The Criminal Court sentenced three people over the killing of a baby born to a minor who was a victim of statutory rape. Aishath Shaaira, the mother of the minor, and her partner Mohamed Imthiyaz were each sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being found guilty of acting as accomplices in the intentional killing of the baby. Shaaira was also handed an additional six-month sentence for failing to report sexual relations between Moosa Ahsam and her daughter. Ahsam, identified as both the father of the baby and the perpetrator of statutory rape, was sentenced to five years in prison for intentionally killing the baby. As he had already been held in custody, his remand period was deducted from the sentence, leaving three years and seven months remaining. All three were also ordered to observe 60 consecutive days of fasting as kaffara. The court held proceedings behind closed doors, as is standard practice in sexual offence cases, and declined to publish the full judgment, saying this was necessary to “maintain societal moral norms” and released only brief details.
