Foreign Ministry has rejected the joint statement issued by concerned nations and parties on the proposed Defamation Bill put forward by the Government. While the Ministry had made the statement, the bill today had been forwarded to an interim Committee for review.
"The Government of Maldives wishes to note that the Draft Bill does not seek to criminalise free speech. It instead seeks to provide a layer of protection for those who may fall victim to scurrilous and defamatory articles and to ensure that such comment does not impact upon issues of religious sentiment or national security," the statement said.
The statement noted that during today's Parliament session ruling PPM PG Leader MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik had pledged to listen to the concerns raised by media. Foreign Ministry said that penalties will be levied only after a multi-stage process, noting that "in the first instance, a warning would be given, and that warning would be made public; secondly, the relevant media outlet would be required to apologize and recall the relevant and offending article and produce a statement to that effect." The statement also said the proposed jail term was "a penalty significantly lower than in many advanced democracies."
"The Joint Statement seeks to advance a notion of freedom of expression that is in fact restricted in four out of the five countries which are signatories to the Statement; these countries have criminalised defamation and have enacted such statutes. Similarly, 23 out of the 28 Member States of the EU also have criminalised defamation," the Foreign Ministry stated.
The statement called on interested parties and stakeholders to return to facts and exercise objectivity, adding that the Government welcomed the opportunity to engage with its international partners.
