Ahmed Murrath – the man sentenced to death for the 2012 murder of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb – has told the High Court today that he was coerced into confessing by the police.
Speaking at his appeal hearing, Murrath was reported as saying that police threatened to arrest his parents before instructing him on what to say during his Criminal Court trial.
“The police even poked at my feet to remind me what to say while I was at the court chambers,” Haveeru reported the 29-year-old as telling the court today.
Murrath and his girlfriend Fathimath Hana, 18, were arrested and charged with Najeeb’s murder after his body was discovered by police stuffed inside a dustbin, badly beaten with multiple stab wounds.
Though she did not confess to murdering Najeeb, Hana was also found guilty of the crime and sentenced to death, less than a month after the murder. She has also filed an appeal case at the High Court and is awaiting trial.
Murrath had previously confessed to having killed Najeeb, saying the crime had been committed in a fit of rage, and under the influence of drugs, suggesting Najeeb had attempted to sexually assault his girlfriend.
His lawyer had previously told the High Court that Murrath confessed in order to escape punishments he received during the investigation period, including sleep deprivation.
In addition, the lawyer said his client’s responsibility was diminished due to the influence of drugs, and that he had the right to retract his confession as there were no witnesses to the crime.
Murrath’s appeal case was filed after the previous 90-day appeal deadline had expired, however the high court still chose to accept the case.
Meanwhile, in a ruling deemed unconstitutional by legal experts and the political opposition, the Supreme Court has shortened the appeal period to just 10 days.
Last year, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen that there was no legal obstruction to implementing the death sentences, after Home Minister Umar Naseer ordered an end to the 60-year moratorium on executions.
The order closely followed the conclusion of the Dr Afrasheem Ali murder trial, in which Hussein Humam was sentenced to death. Similarly, Humam also claimed that his confession was given under duress.
Yameen’s government has since pledged repeatedly that it would not hesitate to implement the sentence, with the president reported as saying last week that it was only the lengthy judicial process that had prevented executions so far.
Most recently, the Criminal Court sentenced Mohamed Niyaz of Kaaf Thulusdhoo Redrose to death after he was found guilty of murdering 35-year-old Ali Shiham on the night of July 31 last year.
A recent report from Amnesty International estimated that around 20 individuals were currently facing the death sentence in the Maldives, though the Prosecutor General’s Office has yet to release official figures.
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