Bangladeshi citizen's death sentence upheld in Maldives High Court

The High Court of the country has upheld the death sentence of a Bangladeshi citizen named Shah Alam alias Salim Mia (29) for killing a citizen of Maldives.

On Thursday, the Maldives High Court upheld the death sentence.

According to local media, on October 14, 2021, the police recovered the body of local businessman Mahmud Abu Bakr (57) from the well of an abandoned house in Dhangethi. Mahmud was killed by cutting his chest and neck with a knife and an iron bar. Later his body was put in a sack and thrown into the well.

Bangladeshi citizen Salim, who was arrested by the police in this incident, confessed to the murder and gave a statement in court. He was later sentenced to death in a criminal court. The latest High Court also upheld that verdict. This is the first time in the history of the Maldives that a foreigner has been sentenced to death for killing a citizen.

In the verdict hearing, the judge said, Mahmud was killed by slashing his chest and neck with a knife and two sharp iron bars. Later his body was put in a sack and thrown into a well. Salim has pleaded guilty four times in this incident. He told the court that he did so out of greed for money.

Note that Selim's house is in Kamalpur village of Lakhail upazila of Habiganj district. Since 2022, Salim Miah has not appealed against his sentence for a long time.