Supreme Court overturns death penalty in 2012 murder of Kaashidhoo police officer

The Supreme Court on Monday overturned the death penalty issued against a man for murdering a police officer in K. Kaashidhoo back in 2012, ordering a retiral.

Lance Corporal Adam Haleem (Kethi, K. Kaashidhoo) was stabbed to death by Mohamed Samah (Suvaasaage, K. Kaashidhoo) at around 12:00 am on July 23, 2012, while Haleem was on his way to report for duty.

Samah was found guilty of the murder by the Criminal Court on January 14, 2013, and sentenced to death. The ruling was upheld by the High Court on September 30, 2020.

Samah, who has been on death row for over a decade, appealed the ruling with the Supreme Court, claiming that he was tortured by the police into confessing – a claim that he had made halfway into his trial.

At Monday’s hearing, Justice Husnu Al Suood said that even if a person confesses to a crime, they can only be convicted if they are found guilty beyond reasonable grounds. He said that Prophet Mohamed himself had practiced this on matters of hudud.

He noted that while Samah confessed to the crime, he also claimed he did not attack Haleem with the intention to kill him.

“Samah in his testimony during the trial denied that he committed murder with intent. In his testimony, he denied the charge of murder with intent – the crime the prosecution tried him for,” said Suood, reading his judgement.

Suood said that following his confession at trial – a confession he later retracted - the authorities did not try to find any other evidence against him. He said that given that Samah retracted his confession and the lack of any other evidence to support his evidence, the court cannot take parts of his confession to find him guilty.

He noted that Samah had said both during both the trial and the High Court appeal that he wished to produce witnesses to prove his confession was coerced.

Suood found in favor of ordering a retrial, providing Samah with the opportunity to present witnesses in his defense and the opportunity for the prosecution to present additional evidence and witnesses they may have.

The judgement was supported by the rest of the five-member bench, composed of: Justice Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, Justice Aisha Shujoon, Justice Mahaz Ali Saeed, and Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

Haleem had been on his way to report for duty when he was Samah outside his home, in violation of a house arrest order against him. Haleem followed Samah to his house and asked him to get ready to come with him to the police station.

Samah refused to go to the police station and became angry. He went into his home and took a four-inch knife from the kitchen, which he used to stab Haleem.

Before Haleem was attacked, he called the police station had informed officers on duty that Samah was breaching his house arrest, and asked them to attend the scene. However, by the time the other police officers arrived Samah had stabbed Haleem and his body was lying on the ground.

Police officers took Haleem to Kaashidhoo Health Centre, but he succumbed to his injuries and died at around 12:10 am.

Samah was arrested the next day. Police said that a drug screen done following his arrest came back positive for cannabis and amphetamines.

During trial, Samah confessed to attacking Haleem and said he had been under the influence of narcotics at the time.

He also told court he attacked Haleem with the intention of frightening him, not killing him. He said he wished to repent and apologize to Haleem’s family.

But in the subsequent hearing, Samah said he made the confession due police torture.

The Criminal Court issued the death penalty after three out of four of Haleem’s heirs said they wanted him to be sentenced to death if found guilty.

Haleem’s fourth heir was his one-year-old child. The court had decided that other heirs could approve the death sentence on behalf of the infant.

Maldives has a moratorium on the death penalty. The last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, who was executed by firing squad in 1953 after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.