AG forwards Evidence Act amendments to President's Office

Attorney General's (AG) Office on Sunday said that an amendment bill to the new Evidence Act has been submitted to the President's Office for submission to the parliament in a bid to allay concerns by media rights organisations that the law could be abused to restrict media freedom as it allowed courts to demand the disclosure of journalists’ sources, but urged the government to remove references to national security.

Amendment to the Evidence Act was ratified on 20 July amid protests from local and international media rights organisations. To be enforced from 20 January 2023, the government has assured journalists that their concerns would be addressed regarding this Act.

Article 136 uses broad terms such as “acts of terrorism” and “national security related crimes” as instances where journalists can be compelled to disclose their sources.

The Prosecutor General (PG) and the suspect in the case, both have freedom to request for the journalist’s source at the courts.

The law does not specify which court can authorise this information breach in a journalists’ profession.

Attorney General's (AG) Office said last week that an amendment bill formulated in consultation with MJA and Editors Guild of Maldives would be submitted to the parliament soon. 

In a statement, the office said Sunday that the bill was sent to the parliament on Thursday.

Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) had earlier welcomed the series of amendments, but urged the government to remove references to national security.

MJA said it opposed amending the Evidence Act with "national security" aspects intact. 

"We note that the draft bill formulated by the Attorney General's Office to amend Article 136 of the Evidence Act addresses many of the concerns of journalists," the organisation said on social media.

"However, we still have serious concerns about the draft bill and have requested the AG to amend them."

MJA asked the government to remove references to national security from the bill. The organisation also called on the AG office to amend the article included in the draft under which authorities could order journalists to disclose their sources even before the case is submitted to the court.

The amendments outlined by the AG Office include: