Maldives proposes death penalty for drug trafficking

Homeland ministry has sent a draft bill to the Attorney General's Office to amend the law to impose the death penalty on drug traffickers.

The news portal of the President's Office, which provides information on the work of government ministries, made the remarks in an article published on Thursday.

According to the document, the government has decided to amend the Drugs Act to impose the death penalty on drug traffickers.

"The death penalty in Maldives is only for murder cases. Therefore, this is the first time such a severe punishment has been proposed in a case other than murder cases," the document said.

Under the current Drugs Act, the maximum penalty for such cases is life imprisonment or 25 years in prison. The penalty also includes a fine of up to MVR 10 million.

The President's Office has not yet commented on the bill. However, the news portal said the bill provides for the death penalty for importing more than 500 grams of drugs.

If the weight of the 139 drugs specified in the law is reached and the person is convicted of drug trafficking, the death penalty will be imposed, the website said.

The news portal article said the bill also contained several amendments: 

A similar bill on drugs was referred by the homeland ministry to the Attorney General's Office for a special law to curb gangs.

Although the death penalty has not been carried out in Maldives since 1953, some people have been sentenced to death in nine murder cases in the past 15 years.

The government of President Abdulla Yameen has drafted a rule to execute those sentenced to death by lethal injection or hanging.

However, the five years of President Yameen's term ended without implementation. Yameen later said it could not be done because the procedures were incomplete.

At a press conference last December, homeland minister Ali Ihsan said the government's policy is to implement the death penalty. He said at the time that he was looking into the matter.