A witness has claimed that they saw defendants in the murder trial of blogger Yameen Rasheed, Ahmed Zihan and Ismail Haisham leave his residence amidst screams.

Apart from Haisham and Zihan, Hassan Shifaz, Ismail Rasheed, Hussain Ziyad and Mohamed Dhifraan were accused of the murder.

The anonymous witness who testified at the trial hearing in Criminal Court highlighted that it was Ahmed Zihan and Ismail Haisham Rasheed who left the residence of Yameen amidst his screams.

The witness noted that the screams sounded like the victim was being tortured and that the two people were seen leaving the residence about a minute after the screams stopped. The witness further added that one of them had left in a parked cycle nearby while the other had joined another man waiting nearby.

According to the witness, even though the men were masked it was clear that the two people were Haisham and Zihan.

The witness had also detailed the clothing that they were wearing at the time and noted that they both were wearing surgical masks when they had left the building. He further added that while he passed them, their masks were by their mouths while Ismail Rasheed was on the cycle wearing a cap.

The witness had further stressed that the area was well lit at the time, and that they had left on their cycles a mere few feet away from him. They highlighted that the people were clearly seen by them during this incident.

Explaining about how they were able to identify the perpetrators, they revealed that they identified the perpetrators when the Police had showed them photographs while taking his statement.

The second anonymous witness presented during the trial hearing today revealed that they had been to Yameen's residence twice the night of his murder. Upon the first visit, the stairwell of the building was lit while upon the second it was not. However, they noted that no strange findings were observed during these visits.

During the hearing on Wednesday, defense lawyers noted that they were given information of witnesses last minute every single time while these hearings are scheduled and planned beforehand.

Judge Ali Rasheed had however noted that there were many reasons as to why such delays are being caused.

The Judge highlighted that while the state is the one who presents the witnesses, all information about witnesses who are being presented should be provided to the court at least two days before the hearing. Upon receiving said information, it will be shared with the defense lawyers as well.