Former President of the Maldives and opposition leader Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom has said Home Minister Imran Abdulla made false comments linking him to the murder of former MP and religious scholar Dr. Afrasheem Ali. This is the first time he responded to the allegations made by Imran earlier in 2015.
Dr. Afrasheem was found murdered in the stairwell of his residence on October 2, 2012.
On May 1, 2015, Imran addressed thousands of citizens for around 12 minutes with vim and vigor during the May Day protests. He mainly spoke regarding Dr. Afrasheem's murder and said Yameen and his Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor would know the truth regarding the murder. He also said police were reluctant to disclose information on journalist Ahmed Rilwan's disappearance, although Maldive Police Service had all the necessary information.
Imran went on to accuse that seven other murders were committed that were linked to Afrasheem's murder. He waved around some documents in his hands and took out a sheaf of papers from an envelope. He pointed to the papers and said he had all information in his hands.
Later, Imran told the Parliament that the documents he had on the day were seized by the police when he was arrested later that day. He said he did not know the identity of the arresting officer and said he does not know where the documents are now.
Speaking at a PPM rally held at Kurendhoo island on Tuesday night, Yameen touched on a conflict at the Parliament due to the Home Minister and Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath speaking in contrast on a matter. While a motion has been submitted at the Parliament stating one of the cabinet ministers was not being truthful, Yameen said Imran was a character who would tell any lie to gain political power.
Yameen said he had known since long that Imran was a liar. Speaking regarding the May Day incident for the first time, Yameen questioned where the documents and 'evidence' Imran had in his hands that day were today. He asked why Imran was not looking into the matter in his capacity as the Home Minister today. He called on the minister to state the reason why Afrashim's murderer has not been found to date.
'It was not the contradicting statements by two ministers that indicated to e what a liar Imran is. I knew it long before that. What kind of massive allegations did he make against me in the 2015 May Day election? Did he not slander me that day? He said he had documentary evidence; he said he had it [in his hands at that moment]. He said Afrasheem was murdered by President Yameen, and he alleged that I would know information on Afrashims death and other deaths! Today he is the Home Minister. The police force is under his control. The documentary evidence he had that day should still be there. Why have they failed to find Afrasheem's murderer? ', said Yameen.
