Raudh re-arrested with a court warrant

May 22, 2025, 12:10 PM
Raudh re-arrested with a court warrant

Raudh Ahmed Zilal, who was in police custody over the unexplained fall of Hawwa Yumnu Rasheed, has been re-arrested with a court warrant.

Raudh, 21, was arrested six days after he left Yumnu, 21, critically injured on the roof of a warehouse after she had a fall from a ten-storey building in Male' on April 18. He also tested positive for cannabis after the incident.

Adhadhu can confirm that police want to arrest Raudh again to complete procedures. Police officers are now at his home to take him into custody.

He was released at 11:00 am today. An appeal hearing of his remand was scheduled for 10:00 am.

Raudh was first arrested on April 24 and detained for five days. His remand was extended by a further 10 days and again by five days on May 10 and by 20 days for a fourth time last week.

He later appealed the "unlawful" remand extension.

The defence raised five points of appeal in the High Court on behalf of Raudh.

  • Police presented evidence with reference to an incorrect Article
  • Police asked for an extension of custody for a second time, citing an incorrect Article
  • Judge set the remand with reference to an Article of his own choosing, not suggested by the prosecution or defence
  • Remand duration set by the judge violated the Article referred to by the judge
  • Proportion of evidence was raised, even though no new evidence was submitted

The court first issued an arrest warrant for Raudh on April 18, but police did not arrest him. He was arrested with a second warrant after public outrage.

Raudh was arrested on charges of being intoxicated at the time of the incident, his alleged involvement in Yumnu's fall and sexual assault. Police also believe he can destroy evidence if released from custody.

However, police later dropped charges of threatening injury by reckless conduct and sexual exploitation against him.

There have been accusations of police lying to Yumnu's family, tampering with video footage and victim-blaming to cover up the case because it involved relatives of politically influential and wealthy figures.

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