Judge Sameer reprimanded for dismissive attitude towards sexual harassment

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has reprimanded Judge Mohamed Sameer for his dismissive attitude towards sexual harassment during a court hearing. 

JSC said in a statement on Sunday that the allegation against Sameer was made based on comments he made during a remand hearing held in a sexual harassment case lodged with the Criminal Court, back when he had worked at the court. 

JSC said an investigation found Sameer had spoken in a manner which dismissed the actions of the suspect as a minor issue. He also said that he decided to remand the suspect because releasing him would hit news headlines, and that courts were also perceived to be in the wrong. 

The commission said that Sameer’s actions violated Judges Act and the code of conduct of judges. 

JSC said it therefore decided to issue Sameer a reprimand and order him to complete JSC-mandated training. 

The commission made the decision to take action against Sameer on March 13. 

Sameer had worked at the Criminal Court before he was transferred to Drug Court. He had been on the bench which sentenced former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to prison for money laundering back in 2019 – a conviction which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2021. An audio clip had gone viral in 2021 in which he is allegedly heard making comments that suggest the conviction was influenced. However, he was later cleared after a police investigation found the clip was tampered with.