DDCom must disclose findings of investigations: Civil Society

Multiple Civil Society Organizations have released a statement today calling on the Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom) to disclose the findings of its investigations before the commission is dissolved.

The statement also called on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives to ensure that the DDCom's findings are shared with the families of victims, as well as the larger public, before the commission is dissolved later this month.

"While we appreciate the decision of the President to extend the dissolution of DDCom until 31 May 2024 at the request of the families of the victims, the truth about the fate of the victims must be provided to over 20 families who have awaited justice through the DDCom," the statement reads.

The CSO state that DDCom had claimed at a meeting with Coalition for Open Governance in the Maldives on May 7 that the President's Office had ordered them to only share the findings with that office, and as such did not intend to publicly disclose the findings.

The statement highlighted that both the CSOs and families of victims have agreed to redacted reports in order to protect witnesses, and stated that any further withholding of the findings would violate multiple human rights.

"It was implied to us that a redacted report will be shared with the affected families. The last minute decision not to do so is unacceptable. It is our only avenue for justice. We have always extended our support to DDCom throughout the years, but the DDCom has not only failed in their legal duties but in their moral duties to the truth as well. We are left with nothing," the statement quotes Aishath Rasheed, sister of murder victim, blogger Yameen Rasheed, as saying.

The statement then goes on to state that the DDCom had failed in early indictments as well as convictions in any of the 24 to 27 cases assigned to the commission for investigation.

"We remind the DDCom that it has used public resources and international aid for over five years. Between 2018 and 2021 alone, the expenditure of DDCom was close to MVR 5.5 million (approximately USD 357,000). We believe that the people of Maldives must know how those funds have been used, and why the prosecutions have not been successful," the statement claims.

Signatories to the statement are listed as Association for Democracy in the Maldives (ADM), Transparency Maldives (TM), We Are Yaamyn, Project Zinmaadhaaru, Zero Waste Maldives, Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

DDCom was established during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in November, 2018. At the time, the commission was expected to complete its investigations within a duration of two years. However, the cases remain unresolved even today.

Some of the cases that the commission investigated include the murder of blogger Yameen Rasheed, murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali and the enforced disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan.