The Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (; DDCom), officially known as Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances is a Maldivian presidential commission formed by

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (; born 4 May 1964), popularly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as the 7th President of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023. Solih was a parliamentarian for 15 years, he represented the Hinnavaru constitue ...

on 17 November 2018, on the day of his inauguration. Within 4 days after its creation, the commission officially commenced operations on 21 November 2018. The comomission was tasked to investigate unresolved cases of

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

and

enforced disappearances An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

from 1 January 2012 to 17 November 2018. The commission investigated 27 cases such as the disappaearance and murder of Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, murder of

Yameen Rasheed Yameen Rasheed (; 10 April 1988 – 23 April 2017) was a Maldivian liberal blogger and IT professional who was stabbed 16 times in his staircase. His death received international news coverage and condemnation among world leaders and had sparked ...

, Afrasheem Ali, and

Raudha Athif Raudha Athif (18 May 1996 – 29 March 2017) was a Maldivian ''Vogue'' model and medical student who died in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Biography Raudha studied in Hiriya School and Villa International High School in the Maldives. She did an envi ...

Investigations and reports

In total, the commission investigated 27 cases, with some international help from the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and the Western Australia Police Force. Some of the cases DDCom investigated have lacked investigation and have alleged corruption in the investigation, which made the general public and the families of the victims believe that the real perpretrators are free. DDCom later in November 2019 finished it's report on the murder of Afrasheem Ali and

, they forwarded the report to president Solih, the

Maldives Police Service The Maldives Police Service () is the civilian national police force of the Republic of Maldives. It is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout Maldives. T ...

, and more. Later on, they released the Afrasheem's report to the public.

Ahmed Rilwan Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla (; 18 January 1986 – 8 August 2014) was a Maldivian journalist, reporter and blogger who was abducted and killed in 2014. His disappearance received international recognition and sparked protests. Early life and education ...

's murder report was finished in 2022 and confirmed Rilwan was killed and the suspects fled to Syria to join the Syrian civil war. An achievement made by this commission was the implemenation of a

witness protection program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...

Dissolution

Although DDCom was supposed to be dissolved in May 2024, it was extended at the request of the victim's families by president

Mohamed Muizzu Mohamed Muizzu (born 15 June 1978) is a Maldivian politician and engineer who has been serving as the 8th president of the Maldives and leader of the People's National Congress (Maldives), People's National Congress since 2023. He previously ...

. DDCom was officially dissolved by Muizzu in June 2024.

Controversies

DDCom has been under many controversies surrounding its lack of transparency and corruption within the investigations of cases. DDCom has claimed that

the President's office The President's Office (, abbreviation: PO) is the office of the President of the Maldives. It was established on 11 November 1968 with the adoption of the Second Republic in 1968. The President's Office administer functions and activities to fa ...

ordered the commission to only share the findings with the office and not to the general public, which caused public backlash. Many

civil society organizations A civil society organization (CSO) is a group of people that operates in the community in a way that is distinct from both government and business. Please see: *Civil society *Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) ...

such as the

Maldives Journalists Association Maldives Journalists Association is a voluntary association that represents Maldivian journalists and news outlets as well as advocating for press freedom in the Maldives. History The association was formed on 1 April 2009. The association is p ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) reviously known as Forum-Asiais a membership-based regional human rights organisation with 85 member organisations in 23 countries across Asia. It is committed to the promotion and p ...

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

and more called on DDCom to publicly disclose the findings.

Members

These are the members of DDCom: *

Husnu Al Suood Husnu Al Suood (; born 12 January 1967) is a Maldivian lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Maldives from 2019 to 2025. He was the Attorney General of the Maldives from June 2009 to August 2010. He served as the Chief Judge of th ...

- Chairperson * Ahmed Nashid * Adam Ibrahim * Fareesha Abdulla * Misbaah Abbas

Former members

* Abdulla Munaz

References

{{Reflist 2018 establishments in the Maldives 2024 disestablishments in the Maldives Truth and reconciliation commissions Truth and reconciliation reports