Attorney General Uz Ahmed Usham has dismissed former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s claim that suspects in the disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla were released from custody by the current Administration.

Solih made the allegation during a press conference held on Thursday night with former Presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. He claimed that individuals accused in Rilwan’s case had been freed under the present Government.

In response, Usham said the claim was false, noting that all suspects in the case were released before the current Administration assumed office.

He stressed that the last suspect in custody was released on 19 September 2023, ahead of the presidential election and prior to the inauguration of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.

He criticised what he described as attempts to mislead the public with statements that contradict clearly established facts, and urged political leaders to refrain from spreading inaccurate information.

During his presidency, Solih also defended the reduction of prison sentences for former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and former Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath, which led to their release.

Justice for unresolved killings and disappearances was a central pledge of Solih’s 2018 presidential campaign. He promised to identify those responsible for the disappearance of Rilwan, the murder of blogger Yameen Rasheed, the killing of former Ungoofaaru MP Afrasheem Ali, and other unsolved cases, and to deliver justice to the victims’ families.

On his first day in office, Solih established the Commission on Deaths and Disappearances to investigate such cases. However, by the end of his administration, none of the major unresolved cases had been fully resolved.