Yumnu’s statement pending four months since her fall

Maldives Police Service states Mariyam Yumnu, who was injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in the Henveiru district of the Maldivian capital at around 07:30 am on April 18, has yet to give her statement to the authority regarding the incident.

21-year-old Mariyam Yumnu was found injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in the Henveiru district of the Maldivian capital at around 07:30 am on April 18. According to the police, their investigation uncovered that she fell from a skylight in the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building, H. Fentenoy, but that there was no evidence of foul play – a claim that, according to her family, Yumnu disputes.

In this regard, Yumnu’s family, citing her, there were four other people at Fenentoy, apart from herself and Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21, the main person of interest in the case and whom the Police identified as the only individual with Yumnu at the time of her fall.

Prior to this, the Police have stated that the authority has, from the first day, undertaken efforts to obtain a statement from Yumnu, as they believe her words would be crucial to the investigation. However, the authority said Yumnu’s health condition, alongside other reasons, has prevented obtaining her statement.

Yumnu, who sustained serious injuries in the fall, including multiple fractures, was initially treated at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). She was flown to a hospital in Malaysia for further treatment on the night of April 26.

According to Yumnu’s family, she was discharged after treatment early June. Back then, Moomin Maumoon, Yumnu’s brother-in-law and the family’s spokesperson, said Yumnu was still not in a condition to give a statement.

The case of Yumnu, who spent hours on the rooftop of a warehouse before a neighbor saw her and alerted the authorities, has sparked serial protests in Male’ after it became known that the individuals involved have family links to influential figures, including Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen. 

On April 27, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu appointed a five-member presidential commission headed by former attorney general Dr. Mohamed Munavvar to conduct an inquiry into the case. The presidential commission published its findings on June 17th, ruling out any third-party involvement in Yumnu’s fall.

The commission decided that while it cannot conclusively establish if Raud intentionally pushed Yumnu or not, the chances that he pushed her are “slim”.

The commission based this on lack of evidence Yumnu sustained any other injuries except for those she sustained in the fall nor were there any marks on her body consistent with someone pushing her off the building.

The commission also found that based on evidence including CCTV footage, Yumnu had entered Fentenoy and climbed up the stairs of her own freewill, and there was nothing to suggest Raud had lured her there with the intention of causing her harm. 

Notably, the commission, in its report, slammed Minister Ameen calling then-Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau over the case in the midst of a press conference, as “unacceptable”. However, the commission said the call had no impact on the case. 

The inquiry was missing one key piece of evidence – the testimony of Yumnu herself. The commission has said they failed to get her statement, despite repeatedly reaching out to her family.

Before her fall, Yumnu had been part of a group of at least nine individuals who were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge – the family residence of Minister Ameen - for a party, where they are believed to have possibly consumed drugs and alcohol.

The police had initially refused to name anyone else except for Yumnu. It wasn’t until six days later – on April 24 – that the police finally named eight people who had been with Yumnu in the party as persons of interest; Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21; Izdhiyaan Mohamed Maumoon, 28; Aishath Layaaly Iqbal, 22; Yoosuf Ahmed Akram, 22; Yoosuf Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, 28; Aminath Junaina Jamsheed, 24; Hussain Hamees Ali, 28; and Ijaz Jaiz, 24.

On April 24, the police arrested Raudh, who had been with Yumnu in the last moments before her fall, for lack of cooperation. He was released and then re-arrested on April 22, a decision that the police said was to “complete some procedural matters.”

On June 4, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) charged Raudh with failure to aid a person in need under Section 618 of the Penal Code.

According to the PGO, Raudh failed to aid Yumnu despite being aware of her fall, and nor did he report the incident to any authority seeking help.

The charge carries a sentence of one month and six days in prison.

Raudh was released from custody on June 26 at the instruction of the PGO, which stated that they had ordered his release due to the possibility that his remand would exceed the likely sentence for the charges he is expected to face.