Attorney General’s Office has stated the new defamation bill which is being drafted by the government will not target the media and journalists.
The defamation bill has been included one of the 28 bills which are to be submitted to the Parliament of the Maldives by the government during the third parliamentary term of the year. Several concerns have been raised regarding the defamation bill, as it draws comparison to the Defamation Act which had been passed by the parliament during the presidency of former President Abdulla Yameen and was used to hand out large fines to journalists and media channels. The Act was repealed after the current administration took office in 2018.
Regarding the new defamation bill, the AG Office said the new bill will not be designed to target the media and journalists like its predecessor. The AG Office said the objective of the new bill is to provide legal power to the regulations which are already being followed, noting defamation will be included as a civil offence under the new bill. The AG Office said details of the new bill will be shared after completing the final draft and submitting it to the parliament.
The old Defamation Act listed defamation as a criminal offence, resulting in large amounts of fines. Several journalists and media channels were punished under the Defamation Act for writing or presenting stories against the government.