Yameen: Ameen should be suspended in Yumnu’s case

Former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom states Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen should be suspended in connection to case involving the young woman who was discovered injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in Malé.

21-year-old Mariyam Yumnu was found injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in the Henveiru district at around 07:23am on Friday, April 18. According to the Police, their investigation uncovered that she fell from a skylight on the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building, H. Fentenoy, but that there was no evidence of foul play.

But before Yumnu went to Fenetoy, the group of nine were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge for a party, possibly with drugs and alcohol.

They are:

• Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21
• Izdhiyaan Mohamed Maumoon, 28
• Aishath Layaaly Iqbal, 22
• Yoosuf Ahmed Akram, 22
• Yoosuf Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, 28
• Aminath Junaina Jamsheed, 24
• Hussain Hamees Ali, 28
• Ijaz Jaiz, 24

The house in question is the family residence of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen. Ameen has admitted that two of his nephews were among the group of individuals involved, but denied he knew anything about the “gathering.”

The nephews in question are Izdhiyaan and Akram.

Youths have alleged “influence” in the case, citing the narrative was being pushed towards a “certain” direction.

Until Thursday, the Police had declined to identify anyone other than the victim. They also made no arrests, and their search had been limited to Fentenoy, and not the other two houses visited by the group.

Speaking at a PNF event last night, Yameen said the dismissal of the youth involved in this case working at the President’s Office and the suspension of an additional youth is not enough. On this note, the former president stressed the need to suspend Minister Ameen as well in connection with the case. 

“I believe that [President Dr. Mohamed] Muizzu needs to suspend Ameen if he addressing this properly,” he said.

Here, Yameen is referring to Izdhiyan’s dismissal and the suspension of Daudh Ahmed, the undersecretary for digital strategy at the President’s Office. Daudh was suspended without pay after photos and videos emerged purportedly showing him using narcotics. Daudh is also the older brother of Raudh, who was with Yumnu when she fell.

Speaking further, Yameen also questioned whether the Police were capable of conducting a criminal investigation that ensures justice.

“It is just hard for me to believe,” he added.

Yameen pointed out that the Police repeatedly denied the involvement of any political figures in Yumnu’s case despite being well-aware of all individuals. He questioned why the Police attempted to conceal the involvement of the political figures in a nation as small as the Maldives, where nothing stays hidden.

The former president expressed his belief that such cases were not being investigated as it could uncover negligence by the Police and Home Minister Ali Ihusan. In this regard, he said he suspects the Police will fail to deliver justice in the case of Zakiyaa Moosa, who was found dead in her N. Holudhoo home in September of last year, with deep neck wounds.

“Rights have been infringed and rights have been lost. It is the government that is trying to sweep this under the rug,” he said, alleging the Police were acting at the direct instructions of government heads.

Yameen alleged that Raudh’s arrest and the travel ban order against those implicated in the case had only come because the government was unable to handle the mounting pressure.

According to police, the group of nine had been at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge for at least three hours starting from 12:30am.

CCTV footage shows four of them, including Yumnu and Raudh, left the house at around 03:40am and going to a house located in front of STELCO in Ameenee Magu at around 04:00 am. They are seen exiting the second house around 10 minutes later. Yumnu and Raudh, the former of whom was barefoot, were then seen at around 04:15am entering H. Fentenoy, a nearby building located in Buruzu Magu, from where she fell.

According to police, Raudh and Yumnu had tried to enter the terrace of the Fentenoy, which was locked. They were then seen on CCTV getting intimate in the stairwell. Raudh is also seen taking off his t-shirt at some point and giving it to Yumnu to wear.

Police said that camera footage later appears to show them looking for each other.

However, the police said that there weren’t any cameras on the ninth floor – from where the Yumnu fell. One of the clips screened by police shows Raudh on the stairs on the eighth floor at around 04:52am – which is the moment the police believe she fell.

He was seen searching for Yumnu throughout the building, including the outside through a skylight. He entered and exited the building multiple times, looking both inside the building and outside in the street, before he left around 20 minutes later.

Responding to speculation that Yumnu wouldn’t have landed where she did if she had fallen from the skylight, Shujau said that investigators had established that the spot where she was found is consistent with where a person would fall if they fell from the ninth-floor skylight.

Yumnu sustained serious injuries in the fall. She was initially treated on a ventilator but was later reported to be breathing on her own. However, her condition remains serious and she is being treated in the ICU of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Mounting public anger over the case prompted a large crowd of protesters, the vast majority of them young men and women, to gather outside the Sergeant Adam Haleem Criminal Investigation Building in Male’ on Wednesday and Thursday nights, demanding justice for the young woman.