A witness in the murder trial of blogger Yameen Rasheed has revealed that the plot to murder him began in Furugaan Mosque and Thoibaa Mosque.

During the hearing of the murder trial held today at the Criminal Court, the witness said that discussions to murder the blogger began in those mosques during November of 2016.

The witness also said that these discussions took place in the residence of defendant Ismail Haisham Rasheed and that tasks were handed out to all the defendants of the case in his residence, during the month of February in 2017.

The witness also added that the defendants had prepared for the murder by increasing their stamina through swimming and running exercises. According to the witness, the murder was initiated my Haisham along with Hussain Ziyad. The witness also revealed that the first meeting regarding the matter was held in Furugaan Mosque with the second and rest being held in Thoiba Mosque and Haisham's residence respectively.

The witness said that the decision to murder Yameen Rasheed was taken since he was irreligious, and added that the witness too had taken part in the discussions which were held in Furugan Mosque.

Apart from Haisham and Zaid, Hassan Shifaz, Ismail Rasheed and Mohamed Dhifraan was accused of the murder.