Yameen Rasheed was an active blogger and prominent human rights defender, as well as a promoter of democracy, the freedom of speech and a tolerant society. The European Union expects the Maldivian authorities to accord high priority to a thorough investigation of his brutal murder in order to bring the perpetrator(s) of this heinous crime to justice. The case of Ahmed Rilwan, who remains missing, also needs to be solved urgently. Human rights defenders should exercise the freedom of speech without any risk to their safety.