Some employees of the Office of the Ombudsperson have submitted complaints to the Whistleblower Protection Unit, which operates under the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM). In connection with this, the Unit reports that an employee has been dismissed from their job as retaliation, under suspicion of being the one who exposed these issues. According to the Unit, although the complaint was submitted anonymously, after secretly questioning the office staff, reports have been received that a particular employee was suspected of exposing the issue and was treated unfairly. It has also been learned that the employee was discriminated against in the work environment, with other employees ostracizing them and speaking loudly against them.
However, the Whistleblower Unit has confirmed that the dismissed employee is not the person who exposed the issue. Before the dismissal, although statements indicated that the employee was good at their job, the Office of the Ombudsperson dismissed them citing “unethical behavior, disobedience to instructions, creating, creating discord in the office environment, and spreading unsubstantiated rumors.” The Unit stated that they have informed the dismissed employee that they could seek compensation for the damages through the court.
Similar incidents have occurred before. When an employee who exposed corruption issues related to Maldives Post Limited (Post Office) was dismissed, the Post Office was fined 900,000 rufiyaa for disobeying the order of the Whistleblower Protection Unit.
