The High Court on Wednesday overturned the convictions of two men found guilty of murdering blogger and activist Yameen Rasheed and ordered the Criminal Court to conduct a full retrial of the case.
Yameen, 29, was killed on April 23, 2017, after he was stabbed multiple times in the stairwell of his residence in Maafannu, Male'. According to investigators, he sustained more than 30 stab wounds.
The Criminal Court had convicted Ismail Haisham Rasheed, M. Dhaftharu, and Ahmed Zihan Ismail, M. Iraasmage, in January 2022, sentencing both to life imprisonment and ordering them to pay MVR 1.3 million as dhiya (blood money).  
Both men appealed their convictions at the High Court.
A three‑judge bench; Justice Hassan Shafiu, Justice Fathimath Farheeza, and Justice Abdul Maniu Hussain, unanimously ruled to quash the convictions, citing issues that require the case to be reheard at the Criminal Court.
Two acquittals also sent back for retrial
Four others were charged with intentional homicide in connection with the murder:  
Mohamed Dhifran, M. Kudhehige  
Hassan Shifaz, M. Kudhehige  
Ismail Rasheed, M. Kudhehige  
Hussain Ziyad, M. Kudhehige  
The Criminal Court had acquitted all four.
The Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the acquittals of Dhifran and Ismail Rasheed. The High Court has now ordered their cases to be reheard as well, sending them back to the lower court for a fresh trial.
During the appeal hearings, state prosecutors asked the High Court to quash the sentences of Haisham and Zihan outright. The bench ruled that such an order could not be issued at the appellate stage, limiting its intervention to overturning the convictions and ordering a retrial.
Murdered blogger Yaamin Rasheed: Yaamin had campaigned for freedom of thought and speech in the Maldives.
Background
Police and the Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom) have previously stated that Yameen was targeted and killed by religious extremists over ideological disputes.
The DDCom, formed under the former MDP administration, investigated both Yameen’s murder and the 2014 enforced disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla. The commission forwarded three suspects for prosecution in relation to the broader conspiracy:
Ismail Abdul Raheem (Isu)  
Ahmed Muaz (Gut Mua)  
Ahmed Ismail (Ahandhu)  
However, on November 21, 2024, the Criminal Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to proceed against Isu and Muaz, returning the case to the PG Office and ordering the removal of their electronic monitoring tags.  
Earlier, the court had also dismissed the case against Ahandhu and ordered the removal of his tag.