The Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances has announced plans to conduct public enquiries on at least two of the cases the commission is working on. The announcement was made by the President of the commission, Uz. Husnu Al Suood, while speaking at a press conference held this afternoon at the President’s Office.
The Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances was convened by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on his first day in office, 17 November 2018, by a Presidential Decree. President Solih established the commission in an effort to uphold the State’s responsibilities in ensuring justice for all, by conducting independent enquiries into unresolved cases of murders and enforced disappearances, that had occurred between 1 January 2012 and 17 November 2018.
At today’s press conference, President of the Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances informed that the public enquiries held will be telecasted live. He stated that the purpose of holding public enquiries is to restore the public’s trust in the State institutions, where the commission has identified issues of neglect in performing their mandated responsibilities, and to ensure those issues are resolved.
The President of the enquiry commission further said that their investigations were not targeted for prosecution, but rather to ensure due process is followed in all cases. He noted that a number of cases have been appealed by the public for investigation by the commission, citing that certain administrative procedures have been previously neglected.
Moreover, Uz. Suood stated that the commission has decided to undertake the investigation of 24 cases, including those appealed by the public and those proactively initiated by the commission. He said that since the commission has commenced its work on 25 November 2018, the commission has achieved significant developments in its investigations. He also expressed his confidence that the commission will be able to conclude its work by the end of April 2019.
Speaking at the press conference, the commission President informed that experts from the FBI will be joining the commission’s work in January 2019, upon request from the commission. He noted that FBI expertise will be provided in the areas of crime scene investigation, data and audio-visual forensics, and in investigating old cases.
The commission President also informed that the Western Australia Police Force and an international NGO have offered their services to the commission’s investigations, which the commission has accepted. The commission has also requested the assistance from Professor Hassan Ugail, Professor of Visual Computing at the School of Engineering and Informatics at the University of Bradford, who will also join the commission’s work in coming January.