The retrial of the 2017 murder of blogger and rights activist Yameen Rasheed is set to resume tomorrow, following a six-month hiatus. Yameen, 29, was stabbed to death in the stairwell of his residence in Malé City on April 23, 2017.

Six individuals were initially charged in connection with the murder. In January 2022, the Criminal Court convicted Ismail Haisham Rasheed and Ahmed Zihan Ismail and sentenced both to life imprisonment, while four others were acquitted. The pair appealed the verdict, and the High Court later overturned the convictions and ordered a retrial.

The retrial began in February 2026 and is being heard by a three-judge bench comprising Judge Ibrahim Ihsan, Judge Mohamed Misbah and Judge Ali Nadeem. The second hearing is scheduled for Saturday and will be livestreamed online.

Investigations by the Maldives Police Service and the Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances concluded that Yameen’s murder was motivated by religious extremist ideologies and related disputes. The upcoming hearing marks the latest development in a case that has remained in the courts for more than nine years.