Chances that Ahmed Raudh Ahmed Zilal – who was with Mariyam Yumnu moments before she fell from the ninth floor of a building in Male’ – had pushed her are “slim”, according to the final report by the presidential commission which was charged with conducting an inquiry into the incident, as they also ruled out any third-party involvement.
21-year-old Yumnu was found injured on the rooftop of H. Mitaz, a warehouse, at around 07:30 am on April 18. According to the police, their investigation uncovered that she fell from a skylight in the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building, H. Fentenoy, but that there was no evidence of foul play – a claim that, according to her family, Yumnu disputes.
Before her fall, Yumnu had been part of a group of at least nine individuals who were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge – the family residence of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen - for a party, where they are believed to have possibly consumed drugs and alcohol.
The family links between the persons of interest in Yumnu’s fall and influential figures, including Ameen, and the seemingly sluggish investigation into the case has sparked allegations of a police coverup and serial protests in the Maldivian capital.
On April 27, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu appointed a five-member presidential commission headed by Dr. Mohamed Munavvar to conduct an inquiry into the case. The commission presented its final report to President Muizzu on Tuesday.
Dr. Mohamed Munawwar (C), president of the presidential commission for inquiry into Mariyam Yumnu's fall, speaks to reporters on April 30, 2025. (Photo/President's Office)
According to the report, which has been published on the President’s Office website, the commission found that CCTV footage, forensic reports and witness testimony rules out the possibility that anyone else except for Raud could have been actively involved in Yumnu’s fall.
The commission decided that while it cannot conclusively establish if Raud intentionally pushed Yumnu or not, the chances that he pushed her are “slim”.
The commission based this on lack of evidence Yumnu sustained any other injuries except for those she sustained in the fall nor were there any marks on her body consistent with someone pushing her off the building.
The commission also found that based on evidence including CCTV footage, Yumnu had entered Fentenoy and climbed up the stairs of her own freewill, and there was nothing to suggest Raud had lured her there with the intention of causing her harm.
It also cited CCTV footage and witness testimony establishing that he searched for Yumnu both inside and outside Fentenoy, repeatedly looked towards the rooftop of Mitaz, waited outside Fentenoy, told passing strangers that “a friend fell”, and attempted to charge his phone.
The commission found that based on the urine analysis of both Yumnu and Raud, their actions and the testimony of those who had been with them that night, they had both been intoxicated of their own freewill, and therefore should both bear responsibility for the events that occurred due to their state of inebriation.
Raud had also claimed he does not remember some of the events of that night, leading the commission to believe he was negligent.
The inquiry was missing one key piece of evidence – the testimony of Yumnu herself. The commission has said they failed to get her statement, despite repeatedly reaching out to her family.
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.
The eight people who were with Mariyam Yumnu before she fell from a building in Male' on April 18, 2025.
Meanwhile, the house where the group held the party was confirmed as the family residence of 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.”
The same day, the police arrested Raudh, who had been with Yumnu in the last moments before her fall, for lack of cooperation.
On June 4, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) charged Raudh with failure to aid a person in need under Section 618 of the Penal Code.
According to the PGO, Raudh failed to aid Yumnu despite being aware of her fall, and nor did he report the incident to any authority seeking help.
The charge carries a sentence of one month and six days in prison.
Raudh Ahmed Zilal smiles as he is taken back to Dhoonidhoo Custodial Jail on April 29, 2025. (Photo/Social media)
The case of Yumnu, who spent nearly three hours on the rooftop of a warehouse before a neighbor saw her and alerted the authorities, had sparked serial protests in Male’.
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.
Yumnu, who sustained serious injuries in the fall including multiple fractures, was flown to a hospital in Malaysia on April 26.
In a TV interview earlier in May, a family member said that Yumnu had told them that she did not jump from the building but was pushed. She also told her family that she was familiar with Fentenoy, and was invited to visit the residence by Yassar. She also said that there were four other people there with Raudh and herself.