Previously, the bodies of those who died in suspicious circumstances have been sent to Sri Lanka for such procedures.

Riyaz said that conducting postmortems does not incur hefty costs and that it was only some additional equipment that was needed in order to begin conducting the procedures in 2012.

Haveeru also quoted a representative of the Islamic Ministry who confirmed the procedure’s compatibility with Islamic law.

“If the death is a suspected murder or if a person has allegedly died from a criminal act, to achieve justice a postmortem can be carried out. That is to check how the victim has sustained their injuries. But consent from the heirs is important when doing so,” Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem told Haveeru.

The announcement comes days after the brutal killing of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb, the sixth murder in the country this year.