Government submits Evidence Act amendments to parliament

Government on Monday submitted an amendment bill to the Evidence Act 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.

A previous 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 month that an amendment bill formulated in consultation with the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and Editors Guild of Maldives would be submitted to the parliament soon. 

The first reading of the bill, submitted by journalist-turned politician Mohamed Wisam of Gan constituency, was held in Monday parliament's session.

The amendments include: 

MJA had earlier welcomed the series of amendments, but urged the government to remove references to national security.

The media rights organisation had said it opposed amending the Evidence Act with "national security" aspects intact. 

MJA had asked the government to remove references to national security from the bill. The organisation had 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.