An emergency motion submitted by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) raising concern over the ninth-floor fall of a young woman from a Male’ building was rejected on Monday due to the wording of the motion, with the presidency of the Parliament deciding that suggesting that the “incident” took place at the residence of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen was erroneous.
21-year-old Mariyam Yumnu was found injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in the Henveiru district at around 07:30 am on April 18. According to the police, their investigation uncovered that she fell from a skylight on the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building, H. Fentenoy, but that there was no evidence of foul play.
But before her fall, she had been part of a group of at least nine individuals who were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge for a party, where they are believed to have possibly consumed drugs and alcohol. There are also allegations that she may have been sexually assaulted prior to her fall.
The police had initially refused to name anyone else except for Yumnu. It wasn’t until six days later – on April 24 – that the police finally named eight people who had been with Yumnu in the party as persons of interest. Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21; Izdhiyaan Mohamed Maumoon, 28; Aishath Layaaly Iqbal, 22; Yoosuf Ahmed Akram, 22; Yoosuf Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, 28; Aminath Junaina Jamsheed, 24; Hussain Hamees Ali, 28; and Ijaz Jaiz, 24.
Minister of Transport Mohamed Ameen. (Sun Photo/Naish Nahid)
Meanwhile, the house where the group held the party was confirmed as the family residence of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen, who admitted that two of his nephews – Izdhiyaan and Yoosuf Ahmed Akram - were among the group of individuals involved, but denied he knew anything about what he described as the “gathering.”
On Monday, MDP’s Mauroof Zakir, the Kendhoo representative, submitted an emergency motion over the issue.
Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir. (Photo/People's Majlis)
But Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, a politician from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), said that emergency motions submitted to the Parliament must be based on facts.
“While honorable member mentions the crime scene of the aforementioned incident as the residence of Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen, the minister does not live in the house where the incident took place,” said Nazim, who was presiding the sitting.
He decided to reject the motion, citing that it does not meet the requirements set under Article 197 (g) of the Parliament’s Standing Orders.
The family links between the persons of interest in Yumnu’s fall and influential figures, including Ameen, and the seemingly sluggish start to the investigation into the case has sparked allegations of a police coverup.
The eight people who were with Mariyam Yumnu before she fell from a building in Male' on April 18, 2025.
The case of Yumnu, who spent nearly three hours on the rooftop of a warehouse before a neighbor saw her and alerted the authorities, has sparked serial protests in Male’. The protestors, a vast majority of them young men and women, have been demanding justice for her, and the resignation of top government and police officials over the alleged coverup.
On April 24, the police arrested Raudh, who had been with Yumnu in the last moments before her fall, for lack of cooperation. They also filed for court warrants to search the other two residences that Yumnu had been in before she went to Fentenoy – Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunu and G. Kashiveli.
The police have said that both Yumnu and Raudh were heavily intoxicated at the time, and had both tested positive for narcotics. Clips of CCTV footage shared by police show Yumnu appeared to have trouble walking, and even fell down on the ground at one point.
Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21, G. Eriyadhoo, K. Male'. (Photo/Maldives Police Service)
The court order issued on April 25 for Raudh’s remand extension by five days shows investigators believe Yumnu and Raudh had argued before she fell – something the police hadn’t mentioned in two press briefings held in the wake of the incident.
It also says that when questioned shortly after Yumnu’s fall, Raudh had responded with “I don’t know where she is” and “I think she fell.”
The then-Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Shujau bowed under pressure and tendered his resignation on Saturday night, following four straight nights of protest, and was replaced with Ismail Naveen as acting CP.
The same night, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu appointed a three-member presidential commission to conduct an independent inquiry into the case.
Youths protest for a third straight night demanding justice for Mariyam Yumnu on April 25, 2025. (Sun Photo/Hussain Hafiz)
Protestors demonstrated outside the Sergeant Adam Haleem Building in the Henveiru district of Male’ for a fifth straight night amid pouring rain on Sunday, as they continue to demand the resignation of Transport Minister Ameen, and Home Minister Ali Ihusan.
Yumnu, who sustained serious injuries in the fall including multiple fractures, was flown to a hospital in Malaysia on Saturday. The family received USD 25,000 (MVR 385,500) from the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), and the rest of the money needed for her medical treatment was raised through a fundraiser.