Mutineers appeal suspensions – and win!
The sailors known as the Mondego Mutineers (for refusing a mission due to what they saw as the unseaworthy condition of their ship) have seen a court uphold their claims of unfair suspensions – and go even further, āattributing illegal acts to Admiral Gouveia e Melo as Chief of Staff of the Navyā.
The news came just as Admiral Gouveia e Melo bid farewell to the Navy after 45 years of active service. What should have been an auspicious moment (principally because Gouveia e Melo is widely tipped as a āpotentially unbeatable candidateā in the āraceā for the Portuguese presidency), was thus somewhat overshadowed.
For the sailors however, it was a vindication of their ātruthsā: the central administrative court of the south (TCAS) annulled suspensions handed down to them (varying from 10 to 90 days) on the basis that they were āinvalidā on three counts: 1) the sailors were not sufficiently informed about their rights; 2) there was a conflict of interest in the process, and 3) evidence was cited that was not previously notified to the sailors before they were punished.
The Navy has already announced that it will be appealing the decision, but the form in which the court referred to Gouveia e Melo, accusing him of āillegal actsā – namely for having maintained the suspensions even after appeals against them were lodged – does not sit well with the whole scenario of running for the highest public office in the land.
As reports stress, āthe Navy has always tried to distance the Admiral from the disciplinary decision to suspend the sailors. But the sailors’ lawyer, Paulo GraƧa, believes that he had direct responsibility in the processā – and now the court has essentially agreed with him.Ā
Reaffirming the Navy’s intention to appeal, a source has stressed that this judgement has not yet become final. āMost of the proceedings related to this case have had favourable outcomes for the Navy, with decisions handed down by both this court and other instancesā, the source added.
This mutiny was especially ānewsworthyā because it involved a ship charged with monitoring what Admiral Gouveia e Melo later explained was a Russian spy-ship.
In the days following the refusal of the crew to set sail, the Admiral travelled to the port of Funchal to give them all a very public dressing down.
