Ex-soldier's family living in military flat forcibly vacated, left pleading on street side

Officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) have forcibly vacated the flat occupied by Mohamed Firaaq and his family, literally leaving them pleading on the roadside.

Firaaq has been living in the flat since before he left his service with the MNDF twenty years ago. The MNDF has repeatedly attempted to have the flat vacated on the grounds that Firaaq is no longer in service.

Firaaq had been living in Flat. 2L of the Bandeyri Koshi’s block 195. The Bandeyri Koshi blocks are housing units built especially for officers of the military.

Police and MNDF efforts to evict flats occupied by retired servicemen and servicewomen, which prompted a number of Civil Court cases against the Ministry of Defence.

Tenants took to the court to acquire compensation for the expenses they made during their stay at the housing block.

Firaaq was seen seated in a monobloc chair outside the premises, pleading for officers to allow him to remain in his long-term home until his case at the Civil Court reaches a decision.

The Defence Ministry provided Firaaq and his family with inadequate compensation, his lawyer said. Mohamed Shifaau, who has been representing Firaaq, at the Civil Court said that the amount the government provided had been what Firaaq had spent on the flat 23 years ago, when the MNDF first asked him to evict the premises.

In May, the Civil Court stated that Firaaq has been compensated for the expenses he made and that the court recognizes how he was allowed to remain resident at the flat after leaving service in 1996, a ‘courtesy’ extended at the behest of a commanding officer which has been retracted.