Maldives' jailed former vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor "lied" when he said he had answered questions missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan 's family had for him over his disappearance.
The Maldives Independent reporter Rilwan went missing nearly four years ago and his disappearance remains arguably the biggest unsolved mystery in the archipelago.
Rilwan's sister Mariyam Fazna during a press conference on Tuesday, said the former VP had lied in a statement he had released over Rilwan's disappearance.
In the statement, Adheeb said he had answered questions the family had over Rilwan's disappearance which Fazna insisted was a "blatant lie."
Fazna said the family had sent some questions over Rilwan's disappearance to Adheeb after he was jailed through his lawyer but he had refused to answer any of them.
"But he answered questions unrelated to Rilwan's case," Fazna added.
Local rights group Maldives Democracy Network (MDN) chief Shahinda Ismail said Adheeb making statements over Rilwan's disappearance was "pointless" adding that Adheeb had refused to hear the pleas for justice when he was in the government.
The former police watchdog chief Shahinda said Rilwan's family believed that Adheeb would have information related to Rilwan's case.
Adheeb in the statement had refuted accusations of his involvement in Rilwan's disapperance insisting that "he would have revealed the information if he had any."
