Fall victim “awake and stable” as home minister urges space for investigation

“Recovery is slow but steady…We held off updates the last two days for security reasons,” her brother-in-law tweeted. She is scheduled for additional procedures on Thursday, he said.

Yumn was found on a warehouse rooftop on the morning of April 18, more than two hours after the fall. Her family has backed ongoing protests over an alleged police coverup to shield individuals with ties to the president’s communications team. 

The youth-led protests were sparked by the police's initial refusal to acknowledge the case’s political connections or to arrest Raudh Ahmed Zilal – who was with Yumn but left her without reporting the fall – as well as by the eventual confirmation of their attendance at a party hosted by the transport minister’s nephews. 

Following the incident, Raudh, 21, the brother of a President’s Office undersecretary, was released despite a positive drug test. Two others were also questioned but released when they refused to provide a urine sample, an offence that carries a one-year prison sentence. The police failed to disclose identities of the group of nine young people – including Izdhyan Mohamed Maumoon, who was sacked as President’s Office undersecretary for strategic communications – or to search the minister’s residence until public anger erupted with large demonstrations in Malé.

Last week, Yumn’s relatives claimed Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan took responsibility for releasing security footage showing Yumn and Raudh in the staircase of Henveiru Fentenoy, the building from which she fell after the pair left the party. The footage showed Yumn and Raudh in a private moment on the staircase when both appeared to be in an impaired state.

At a reception for the Maldivian diaspora in Malaysia during President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s official visit to Kuala Lumpur, Yumn’s brother-in-law’s sister spent nearly an hour talking to the president and the home minister about the family’s concerns. 

Ihusan spoke to her in a sarcastic tone and occasionally smirked during the interaction, she told the Maldives Independent. “I asked whose decision it was to share [the CCTV images] and he said that it was his,” she said.

When the Maldives Independent contacted Ihusan on Monday, he declined to comment on the family’s allegations.

"At this stage with the official investigation still ongoing alongside the presidential commission's inquiry, we should give space for that,” he said. 

“This is a case where the victim’s statement has also not been taken yet – fundamentals and basics of the investigation are ongoing. We should be responsible and not muddy the waters and wait for the investigation and inquiry to finish.”

Last week, a group of civil society organisations criticised the release of information “that contributes to narratives that promote victim-blaming”, referring to the police disclosing the victim’s identity at a closed-door press briefing and withholding information about the other individuals or locations. 

The Maldives sexual offences laws prohibits revealing “any information that may give a hint as to the identity of the victim, in reporting or publishing reports on investigation and trials relating to an offence of rape, sexual injury or sexual assault.” Despite speculation of sexual assault, it is unclear why the police revealed her name at the closed-door briefing, where the CCTV footage was first shown to the media.

The second press conference by then-Police Commissioner Ali Shujau, where the CCTV footage was publicly aired, “further sensationalised the case, enabling narratives that blame the victim and reinforce existing prejudices regarding victims of gender-based violence,” the NGOs said. 

“We note that this type of conduct by the police will deter help-seeking behaviours of victims and create fear and distrust in the system, particularly in a society where gender-based violence and substance abuse is persistent and prevalent.”

During the press briefing, Shujau acknowledged the disclosure of the victim’s personal information as a mistake. He blamed the media’s failure to “'effectively communicate the facts” for forcing the police’s hand in releasing the footage to quell public disquiet and skepticism. 

Yumn’s family has been extremely critical of the decision, flagging multiple instances where a policeman narrated theories as the footage played and described the young woman as “nude.” 

The relative who spoke to the president and home minister told the Maldives Independent about confronting Muizzu over his statements blaming his political opponent’s 2013 “fun without fear” campaign slogan for promoting party culture and a “decline in Islamic values”.

“I told Muizzu, you have also said this in your speech and he said no, I did not say this to address this [incident]. I told him, no, you said so while referring to this incident. I told him, I feel that this was said to shame the victim. But we are not ashamed,” she said.

Numerous anonymous social media accounts, particularly on X, have been relentlessly attacking the family with accusations of negligence and irreligious behaviour.

Both the Prosecutor General and the Human Rights Commission have reprimanded the police over the release of the footage. The decision to reveal the young woman’s name and show the staircase footage violated the victim’s dignity, the HRCM said in a statement on April 24, noting the potential impact on the investigation. 

The PG office ordered a review of the police handling of the case, including the decision to identify the victim. The police were advised "to refrain from revealing any further information that will damage the reputation and dignity of the victim and to conduct police business in a manner that does not repeat such action,” the PG office said.

According to the relative, when he was challenged on the moral ambiguity of releasing the footage, President Muizzu denied any prior knowledge of the matter. He repeatedly apologised and promised to take action after looking into Home Minister Ihusan’s decision. 

“I told Muizzu, you also have a daughter, if something like this had happened with her, would you be alright with releasing the footage publicly? When I said this, he said that was an offence by [police]. He said that the prosecutor general had also  said it is an offence, it is wrong and that it is against the law. It should not have happened.”