Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has stated that the government does not intend to let the article prohibiting gatherings in public places under the Right to Peaceful Assembly Act rest as is.

In a press conference held on Monday, the Minister said that it is a pledge of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to offer leniencies in relation to this law.

"Under the Week 14 program, we will soon announce the leniencies that will be offered in relation to this. What we are considering now is, for example, there is only one locaiton in Male' where gatherings are allowed without prior permission, instead of that, we are working on identifying additional locations where gatherings can be held without seeking prior permission from the police," the Minister explained.

In his first Presidential Address, President Dr Muizzu has appealed to the parliament to expedite passing the amendments to the Right to Peaceful Assembly Act.

In an amendment brought to the act in 2016, under the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen, gatherings in Male' can only be held without police permission in places designated as such by the government. Under this, the government designated the Male' Carnival area as the sole location where such gatherings can be held.

Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih also pointed out the infringement on the rights of the people caused by this amendment, and vowed to annul the Act. However, parliament is yet to complete proceedings on the amendment to annul said article submitted on August 8, 2019 by Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir.