Man found guilty as accessory in murder of Addu businessman

One of the men charged as accessories in the 2016 murder of Ali Abdulla, a businessman from Addu City, was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday, but was released as he had already spent the duration of the sentence in detention.

Ali Abdulla was killed in the pre-dawn hours of March 2, 2016, as he was driving his motorcycle in Hithadhoo. According to the prosecution, the victim’s nephew, Ibrahim Didi, Happy Future, S. Hithadhoo, kicked his motorcycle, throwing Ali Abdulla to the ground, before strangling him with a rope.

Ibrahim was found guilty of murder with intent and sentenced to 12 years in prison in on October 8, 2020.

Three more people were charged as accessories. They are, Mauz Mohamed, Athamavilla, S. Hithadhoo; Mubarik Mohamed, Azzaa, S. Hithadhoo; and Mohamed Shifaz, S. Hithadhoo.

The Criminal Court found Shifaz guilty of the charge on Wednesday.

Shifaz was charged as an accessory for taking Ali Abdulla near Hithadhoo school at Ibrahim Didi’s instructions.

Shifaz had initially confessed to the crime and signed a plea deal with the prosecution. However, he later denied the charge at court.

The trial dragged on after he retracted his confession. The trial also stalled after the judge who originally heard the case had to be changed. The case was later heard by Judge Saffath Habeeb.

The Criminal Court, on Wednesday, found Shifaz guilty of being an accessory to the murder and sentenced him to six years in prison.

However, the judge determined that he had no days left to serve in his sentence and as he had already been kept in detention for six years, and ordered his release.

Ali Abdulla was found dead by an elderly woman on March 2, after his family reported him missing and the police and locals launched a search.

His body was found face down in a swamp area to the north east of Hithadhoo school. His motorcycle was also found in the same area.

The police previously said their investigation uncovered the murder was motivated by money. The police found MVR 40,000 stolen from Ali Abdulla buried in a private property, and the credit on a phone he used for Reload was transferred to another phone.

He was found with his tongue swollen and protruding out of his mouth and rope marks around his neck.