The Criminal Court has restarted hearings in the retrial concerning the 2017 killing of blogger and activist Yameen Rasheed.

Initially, six people were accused of fatally stabbing Yameen in the stairway of his residence in April 2017. They are as follows:

Ismail Haisham Rasheed (H. Annaarumaage, Male)

Ahmed Zihan Ismail (Lot 11399, Hulhumale’)

Mohamed Dhifran (Sindbadge, G.Dh. Gaddhoo

Hassan Shifaz (M. Kudhehige, Male)

Ismail Rasheed (M. Thaaif, Male)

Hussein Ziyad (M. Kolhufushi, East)

In January 2022, the Criminal Court found Haisham and Zihan guilty and sentenced them to life in prison, while the other four were found not guilty.

The High Court was approached by both convicts, who had their verdict overturned and were granted a retrial. On December 31, the High Court found the duo not guilty. Nevertheless, on that same day, the Prosecutor General’s Office asked the Criminal Court to decide on their remand status. The court later directed that Haisham and Zihan be kept in custody until the trial.

A panel of three judges recommenced hearings on Monday. Although the majority of cases in the Criminal Court are presided over by one judge, specific cases are designated to a panel. The panel consists of Judge Ibrahim Ihusaan, Judge Mohamed Misbah, and Judge Ali Nadheem.

The events are being streamed live on the internet.

Police and Death Commission investigations earlier determined that Yameen was murdered due to religious conflicts.

Civil society groups have consistently expressed worries regarding the management of the investigation and prior trial stages, pointing out deficiencies in evidence presentation, chain-of-custody problems, and the absence of public release of the Death Commission’s complete conclusions. They claim that these deficiencies have led to postponements and weakened public trust in the quest for justice in Yameen’s situation.