The Criminal Court has issued the death penalty for the murderer who killed another man in L. Maavah in a dispute, with the sentence being issued after the court made the murderer play out the crime in court.
The prosecution charged Mohamed Ibrahim, 29, Asaree Manzil, HDh. Nolhivaranfaru with the assault of Moosa Ibrahim, 29, Nalahiya, L. Maavah with a knife and murdering him in an altercation that took place at Maavah.
Mohamed Ibrahim confessed to the crime in Criminal Court, with him signing a confession with the state. However, even though he said that he agrees to attacking Moosa Ibrahim with a knife, he had no intention of killing him. Because of this, the sentence reads that the confession was not accepted.
The first time a murderer played out a crime in court
The Criminal Court instructed Mohamed Ibrahim to play out the attack against Moosa Ibrahim during the trial.
It was done as "demonstrative evidence" in front of a forensic pathologist with Mohamed's consent, with a person who had the same height as Moosa being taken to court, the sentence reads.
"This was a step taken during the trial to secure the confession," said presiding Judge Adam Mohamed as per the sentence that was issued on Monday.
Prior to this, murderers were allowed to play out the crime in murder cases during the investigation stage. This is the first time this has been done in court.
The sentence reads that even though Mohamed said he attacked Moosa with no intention of killing him, the knife he used in the attack is the same one he uses to self-administer drugs. The sentence also reads that he took the knife out of his pocket during the altercation and attacked, but looking at Moosa's actions during the dispute, Mohamed faced no situation where he had to attack Moosa.
“It is clear that the act was carried out intentionally, with physical strength and coordination," the sentence read.
Additionally, the sentence reads that after the attack, Mohamed fled the scene without helping Moosa, threw the knife into the sea and poured water on himself after entering the police station in an attempt to erase evidence. The sentence also read that it shows intent to commit homicide.
The sentence goes on to say that the crime of intentional homicide is proven against Mohamed beyond reasonable doubt. And as Moosa's heirs want the death penalty, Mohamed was sentenced to death.
Even though Mohamed was sentenced to death, it can only be enforced after all appeal stages are exhausted and if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling. While there are some people who are in Maldivian prisons after the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence, the last time a death sentence was enforced in Maldives was during former President Mohamed Ameen's government.
