High Court has ruled today that compensation must be paid to Moosa Zameer as his dismissal from Maldives National Defence Force following the explosion on 'Finifenma' presidential speedboat was not lawful.
High Court has ruled today that compensation must be paid to Moosa Zameer as his dismissal from Maldives National Defence Force following the explosion on 'Finifenma' presidential speedboat was not lawful.
Zameer was dismissed from MNDF citing he had removed vital evidence from the speedboat following the explosion on the vessel.
In 2016, Criminal Court sentenced Zameer and another MNDF officer, Ahmed Thihaam, to 4 months and 23 days in prison on charges of having removed vital evidence from the speed boat following an explosion which occurred in 2015 while then President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim were traveling on it.
However, Zameer later appealed the case at the High Court who overruled the lower court's sentence in 2019.
He then submitted a case to the Civil Court asking to be reinstated to his position at MNDF, and to get compenstation of MVR 1 million. Civil Court ruled against him in the case.
Zameer then took the case to High Court, appealing the Civil Court's decision.
The High Court ruled in the case yesterday. In their ruling, the High Court said that Zameer had been dismissed in contravention to the regulations on penalties for offences by MNDF officers. This is because he was not notified even when his dismissal had been sent to court.
The High Court ruled that Zameer does not have to be reinstated. As a reason, they said that the job qualifications and skills at MNDF has changed in the intervening period, and as such it is not in the best interests to reinstate him to his previous position.
Zameer and Thiham were released from custody when they were sentenced by the Criminal Court, after taking into account time served before sentencing.
Criminal Court at the time also sentenced then MNDF Male' Area Commander Ahmed Fayaz (Papa) to two years in prison.
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