Finifenma explosion: Court orders compensation to Zameer for dismissal from MNDF

The High Court ruled on Monday that Moosa Zameer’s dismissal from the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) in connection to the 2015 explosion on board the presidential speedboat ‘Finifenma’ had been unlawful, ordering the state to pay compensation to him.

The explosion on board the speedboat carrying then-President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and his spouse Fathimath Ibrahim took place on September 28, 2015, just as it entered the Male’ harbor. The government treated it as an assassination attempt.

Three MNDF officers were dismissed and jailed for allegedly removing evidence from the speedboat.

Zameer and Ahmed Thiham were sentenced to four months in prison, while then-Male’ Area Commander Ahmed Fayaz Ali Riza (Papa) was sentenced to two years.

The convictions were overturned by the High Court in 2019, long after they finished serving their sentences.

Zameer subsequently filed a lawsuit with the Civil Court seeking to get reinstated to the MNDF. He lost the lawsuit but appealed the decision with the High Court, seeking to get reinstated to the MNDF as well as compensation for damages.

The High Court issued its ruling on Monday. It found that Zameer was dismissed in violation of the MNDF’s regulations on administrative punishment.

It decided against ordering his reinstatement citing the changes to the MNDF’s qualification and talent requirements in the years since his dismissal, but ordered the state to compensate him for the loss of his income.

The decision was made with the unanimous consensus of the three-judge bench that heard the case.