Home Minister Ali Ihsaan said tonight that not conducting an autopsy on Zakiyya Moosa, who was found dead with injuries in N. Holhudhoo, was a mistake.

In response to the series of protests in Holhudhoo calling for justice for Zakiyya, Ihsaan and senior police officials visited the island and met with the residents last night.

Answering a question at the meeting about why a postmortem was not conducted on Zakiyya, Ihsaan said that the pathologist who examined Zakiyya's body was a doctor who was available in the Maldives at the time, here for other work, and had conducted many postmortems before.

"We don't believe that not conducting an autopsy then was the right thing to do. I believe it was a mistake," Ihsaan said.

Ihsaan further said that after clarifying the technical reason for deciding not to conduct an autopsy on Zakiyya's body, they will disclose it.

Zakiyya, 50, was found dead in her home on September 10, 2024. Although her body was brought to Male' for some tests, as it was decided not to conduct a postmortem, her body was taken back to Holhudhoo and buried on September 12.

Three months later, at a press conference held by the police, Chief Inspector of Police Mohamed Samih said that Zakiyya's body was brought to Male' and shown to a pathologist, and based on the doctor's examination, it was advised that there were no signs of injuries inflicted by another person.