Civil Court of the Maldives has ordered Parliamentarian Abdulla Jabir to pay his employee's salary.
Parliamentarian Jabir was arrested and summoned to the Civil Court on December 22 and was released on the same day. Jabir was summoned to court over a case regarding his refusal to pay the salary of an employee who had worked at his company, Yacht Tours Maldives Private Limited.
Employment Tribunal of Maldives investigated the case and concluded that the employee, Ali Mohamed, is owed USD 45,000. The employment tribunal stated Yacht Tours was required to pay Ali Mohamed a monthly salary of USD 3,000 but had neglected to pay his salary from November 2018 to June 2019. The tribunal filed a court case to implement its ruling, after which the Civil Court ordered Jabir to appear in court on December 19.
The court summoned Jabir on December 22 after issuing an order for his arrest, and released him on the condition that he pay the employee within 10 days.
Jabir has faced public criticism over the various statements he had made during the 19th parliament session. This is the first time a parliamentarian of the 19th session has been arrested.