Passports of 14 held in connection with Rilwan's case

"Sun" has confirmed through a reliable source that the passports of 14 individuals linked to the case of murdered journalist Ahmed Rilwan have been held by the authorities. 

The passports were held on Saturday and belong to everyone linked to the case who are currently present in the Maldives. The Presidential Commission on Murders and Enforced Disappearances had stated that the passports of those linked to the case of Rilwan had been held during the press conference held on Sunday, but it did not reveal how many individuals there were.

Some people linked to the case had traveled to Syria to fight while some people had died.

Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla went missing on August 7, 2014, and the president of the Commission on Murders has confirmed during the news conference on Sunday that Rilwan was indeed murdered and pinned the murder on an affiliate of the terrorist group Al Qaeda that has been active in the Maldives. 

Gruesome details of Rilwan's murder revealed in report https://t.co/BtDcvl25xT

— sun.mv (@sunbrk) September 3, 2019

The Commission had found out that Rilwan was decapitated on a boat and his body was sunk by the people involved after he was kidnapped from near his home.

Rilwan was kidnapped and forced into a car near his residence in Hulhumale', from where he was transported to a dinghy, which in turn set out to the above-mentioned boat on which he was decapitated. The boat belonged to a person from A.A Ukulhas and had been used for sea cucumber fishing. 

Suood also stated that there were discrepancies in the statements made by witnesses regarding how Rilwan was murdered and that it would be difficult to prove Rilwan's murder through the criminal procedure.

Suood also stated that police intel division officers had attempted to show that Rilwan had died after traveling abroad to a country.

Two people were charged previously in Rilwan's case. They are Aalif Rauf from H. Hilton and Mohamed Nooraddheen from Karanakaage, G.Dh Vaadhoo. However, both of them were later released after their involvement could not be proved.