Parliament passes to send the Defamation Bill to an 11-member interim Committee for review.
Thirty-eight MPs voted to accept the bill for additional review, while 28 MPs voted against the motion. Thirty-nine MPs voted to send the bill to the interim Committee.
Speaking about the bill, PPM PG Leader Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik today said that the PG was willing to bring any required amendments to the bill based on the technical points raised by media and journalists. He had proposed to send the bill to an 11-member Committee review.
The Defamation bill states that any action, statement or work that is not backed by facts and evidence and negatively impacts any person, his character, dignity or rights will be termed as an act of defamation. Additionally, any statement, action or works that contravenes Islam, impacts national integrity, ethical and social norms, media standards and/ or promotes dissent against state agencies will also be termed as defamation.
If proven guilty of the charges, the guilty party can face a penalty of any amount between MVR 50000 and MVR 2 million. If unable to pay the penalty the guilty party can serve a jail term of three to six months.
Media Council, journalists, civil society organizations have expressed their concerns over the bill, stating that this negatively impacts journalism. Journalists have begun protests under the banner "in defense of 27", while Media Council had held discussions with PPM members over the bill.
