Pres commission on murders, disappearances summoned to 241 committee

The Presidential Commission on Enforced Disappearances and Murders has been summoned to the Parliament Committee on National Security Services (241 committee) over the report submitted by the commission on the murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

Parliament Secretariat said the commission members are to present themselves to the committee at 1400 hrs on Sunday.

While Senior officers from Maldives Police Services were summoned to the committee last Thursday, the meeting was closed to the media.

The report issued on Rilwan's murder by the commission said two intelligence officers from Maldives Police Services had obstructed the investigation of Rilwan's abduction. Consequently, Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath has instructed MPS to obtain a court order to arrest Corporals Ibrahim Riffath and Mohamed Jinah.

However, the police said there were no legal grounds on which the officers can be arrested due to lack of substantial evidence against them.

While the police faced public criticism for their statement, Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed late Saturday said according to the Presidential Commissions Act, the commission has sole investigative authority over Rilwan's case. Therefore, since MPS was not the investigative authority in the case, it cannot apply for an arrest warrant on behalf of the investigative authority, said the commissioner.