High Court judge suspended in connection to Rilwan probe

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has placed High Court judge Hassan Ali under suspension in connection to findings by the Commission on Disappearances and Deaths in its investigation into the 2014 abduction and murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla.

JSC said that Hassan Ali was placed under suspension on Monday because the DDCom was pursuing an investigation against him based on findings he, during his time as Controller General of Immigration, co-conspired with two police intel officers to forge official papers to fabricate evidence to show Rilwan hadn’t been murdered, but had voluntarily left Maldives to join a militant group in Syria.

Hassan Ali had served as Controller General of Immigration from November 23, 2013 to January 20, 2015.

DDCom found that that he was approached by two intel officers to produce Rilwan’s passport.

Hassan Ali responded that he couldn’t produce a passport unless the officers filed an official request, and when the two officers said they wouldn’t be able to file an official request, suggested that they forge Rilwan’s passport.

DDCom said in its draft report on the case that it obtained the information based on a statement by Hassan Ali to the police.

Hassan Ali was already under investigation by JSC over the allegation he campaigned for former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom during the presidential election in 2018.