The Supreme Court yesterday quashed the death sentence imposed on a minor who was convicted in the death of Hussain Waheed, who was stabbed to death in Malé 13 years ago.

Two minors were sentenced to death by the Juvenile Court in 2015 for the December 2013 murder of M. Aishaa, Hussain Waheed and the High Court later upheld their death sentences.

The Prosecutor General's Office submitted the death sentence case of one of those minors to the Supreme Court, requesting that the punishment be changed. The state requested so because the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits handing down the death penalty to minors under 18 years of age.

In the unanimous verdict delivered by five Supreme Court judges in this case, it said that because the Child Rights Protection Act prohibits imposing death sentences on minors, the death sentence against the child must be quashed.

Therefore, the verdict upheld by the High Court was quashed, and the case was sent back to the Juvenile Court to determine punishment anew. Under the law, if a minor commits an offense punishable by death, the punishment to be determined even after the child reaches 18 years of age is a punishment no greater than three-quarters of the highest penalty available short of the death sentence.

The Supreme Court also quashed in 2024 the sentence of the other minor sentenced to death in this case. That sentence was quashed because Hussain Waheed's mother pardoned that minor. The mother granted pardon after that minor asked for forgiveness. Therefore, the verdict stated that under Islamic Shariah, the death penalty cannot be imposed in that situation.

That case was also transferred to the Juvenile Court to decide on the legal penalty that can next be determined for that minor under the law.

Even though those two individuals have now turned 18 years of age, because they committed the crime while being minors, disclosing their information is prohibited under the Juvenile Justice Act.