Defendants in 2017 stabbing walk free; crucial CCTV footage missing

Three people charged with assault in a 2017 stabbing in Male’ City walked free last week, due to the loss of crucial CCTV footage of the attack.

Hussain Himyan of Fuvahmulah City, was stabbed while inside the GSix Café, located in Sikka Goalhi of Male’ City, on the night of September 29, 2017.

Two individuals – Mohamed Najih and Mohamed Nasssaru – were charged with assault with a sharp-edged weapon and possession of a sharp-edged instrument in a public space without probable cause. Meanwhile, a third individual – Hafiz Hassan – was charged as an accessory to assault.

CCTV footage of the attack – which the police said showed the attackers entering the café armed with knives and axes – had been named as crucial evidence for the prosecution.

However, the Criminal Court, in its ruling last Thursday, noted that none of the footage was submitted at trial.

The court acquitted all three individuals, citing lack of evidence to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

ISSUE WITH POLICE STORAGE SYSTEM

In a post on X on Sunday night, the chief police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Shifan, said that an issue with the police storage system in had led to the loss of some data in 2017.

He said that critical data was later restored, but that the police were investigating whether the issue was linked with the footage in question.

The documents shared by the Criminal Court on Sunday shows that police told the court it had been unable to submit the footage because the police were unable to extract footage from any CCTV cameras due to a technical issue with the police’s server, which happened within days after the attack. The police also told the court that the IT Department told them that was costly to take backup of camera footage. They also told the court that video compositions weren’t prepared for any of the defendants.

The stabbing had been one of serial gang attacks that rocked Male’ City in 2017. Total 13 people were arrested in connection to the attacks, including minors.