The Attorney General's Office has sent a bill to the President's Office to amend the Evidence Act. The bill was sent to the President's Office on Thursday.
In a press release issued Sunday, the Attorney General's Office acknowledged that the provision in Article 136 of the Evidence Act requiring journalists to disclose the source of information in certain circumstances had caused concern among journalists. The Attorney General's Office said it would propose to amend the law to clarify further the circumstances where journalists are required to disclose their source. It includes defining national security offenses as offenses that involve acts that lead to serious harm to the sovereignty of the country or to the body, life, or property of a person or group and defining terrorism offenses as defined in Chapter II of the Prohibition of Terrorism Act.
The AG Office also noted that the proposed amendments would require the law to stipulate what the court should take into account in requiring journalists to disclose the source of information and that such a decision would be subject to an order from the High Court.
The office on Sunday said the bill, which was drafted after consultations with the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), the Maldives Editors Guild (MEG), and other relevant bodies, has now been forwarded to the President's Office. The bill was submitted while MJA said it opposed the amendment including the term "national security". It is unclear how the Attorney General's Office subsequently acted on the concern before forwarding the bill to the President's Office.
Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath
