PPM PG Leader Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik has stated that introducing a Defamation Bill was not just being carried out in the Maldives, noting that 19 European Union nations had criminalized defamation.
Speaking for the Defamation Bill in today's Parliament session, Nihan said protection from defamation has to be given in the same way freedom of expression was granted in the Constitution. He said freedom of expression had been misused and abused to the extent that serious questions over that can be raised. Nihan argued that this must be brought to an end.
Nihan said the bill proposed to halt defamation, especially on false and baseless claims. He said while EU had expressed concerns over the bill, 19 EU nations had strict laws on defamation, with severe penalties and jail terms. He also said some other nations had listed defamation as a civil offense.
However, he said that the PPM PG was open to making changes to the bill based on the technical issues raised by media and journalists.
Nihan had proposed to form an 11 member Committee, representative of all political parties in the Parliament, to review the bill and the concerns expressed by media.
