Yameen: Action should be taken against Ameen, Ihusan just as Daud was fired

Former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyom states action should be taken against Home Minister Ali Ihusan and Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen just as Ahmed Daud was dismissed as the Under Secretary for Digital Strategy at the President’s Office for giving false testimony in connection to the case of Hawwa Yumnu Rasheed, 21, who was found unconscious on a rooftop after she fell from an adjacent building.

Daud is the older sibling of Raud Ahmed Zilaal, the primary suspect in the case. Daud’s false statement was discovered by the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry established specifically to investigate the case.

He was subsequently dismissed from his post on June 18^th.

Yameen spoke regarding Yumnu’s case during a PNF event held on Thursday. In this regard, he expressed concern over the failure to establish the reason behind Yumnu’s fall in the special presidential commission’s investigation, despite the commission publishing its report recently.

The former president expressed his belief that the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry’s president, former Attorney General Mohamed Munawar had undertaken ‘extensive’ efforts to formulate the report. Despite the failure to establish the reason behind Yumnu’s fall, Yameen noted Munawar had come to important conclusions in the report.

He referred to two points made in the report. The first was Minister Ameen calling then-Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau over the case in the midst of a press conference being described as “unacceptable”.

The second stating Minister Ihusan visited the site of the incident and actively participated in checking the state of the site and taking photos, which was emphasized in the report as beyond the scope of responsibilities of the home minister under the constitution and the Police Act.

Yameen expressed his belief that its President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu who should question Minister Ameen and Minister Ihusan based on their designation and as who appointed them. He questioned why efforts were being made to hide the fact that Minister Ameen and Minister Ihusan attempted to influence matters that they should not, despite the report clearly stating so.

Yameen stressed that a normal person committing a crime and a minister committing a crime is vastly different as a minister committing a crime would aggravate its severity.

“If the action against Daud was furthered, there should be action against those two as well. I had questioned this initially in this forum. Munawar has written this finding as well. Why do they remain in their posts?” Yameen questioned.

According to the report, when Minister Ameen was questioned regarding the case, he said he was abroad on an official, adding he departed three days before the incident. He said he heard of the incident through media and when his nephew, Izdhiyan Mohamed, had called him to share the information.

In this regard, Minister Ameen said Izdhiyan had told him a girl who was at a gathering on the terrace of Maandhooge Dhekunuge, the minister’s family home, on the night of April 17^th, had fallen while at another house.