The Parliament on Tuesday passed the controversial Defamation Bill. The Bill was passed with 47 MPs voting in favor of the Bill. Thirty one MPs voted against the Bill.
Two amendments were proposed to the amended bill proposed by Gemanafushi Constituency MP Jameel Usman. The first amendment was proposed by Makunudhoo MP Anaaraa Naeem, which stated that religious sermons can be given by any individual. The amendment failed to gain the threshold vote of 38, with only 27 MPs voting in favor of the motion.
However, the motion proposed by Jameel to add in a subsection to clause 13, subsection (b) of the bill. Forty-seven MPs voted in favor of the motion, while 26 voted against.
The interim Committee drawn up to review the bill had summoned journalists and relevant bodies to seek their opinions over the Bill. A new draft of the Bill was drawn up, including the concerns expressed by these parties, which was passed by seven out of the 11 MPs in the Committee.
Speaking in the debate session of the Committee report, MP for Ungoofaaru Constituency Jaufar Dauood said that many positive changes were added to the new draft of the Bill.
Responding to this statement, MDP PG Leader and Hinnavaru Constituency MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Ibu) said that the Bill does not protect individuals against defamation but rather hinders freedom of expression. He added that if the intention of the Bill was to protect individuals from defamation, the MPs and Judicial sector should not be exempted from the Bill. Ibu said passing the bill will repeal all rights enshrined in the Constitution for citizens.
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.
In the event a defamation suit is proved, a media house has to pay an amount between MVR 25,000 and MVR 1,000,000. Individual reporters will be fined by an amount between MVR 50,000 and MVR 150,000. In the event the media house cannot make the payments, then the media license will be revoked, while journalists will be jailed for between three to six months under criminal charges. The right to appeal can be filed only after paying the fines.
The bill states that any illegal actions by institutions, any work that impacts health and well-being of an individual or the environment cannot be labelled as libel. Opinions based on informative reports, reports on Parliament and Court proceedings, investigative authorities and cases under review is not defamation.
The bill, however, states that journalists must work to seek the opinions of individuals against whom allegations are made on podiums and rallies. The article can be published without the statement of the individual though.
