The government-sponsored bill submitted to parliament seeking to criminalize genocide and treason through an amendment to the Penal Code has been withdrawn.
The bill, submitted by South Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifau, was withdrawn after it had been placed and removed from the agenda for parliament sittings held yesterday and today. Mihaaru reports that the bill has now been withdrawn.
The bill faced major backlash with many speculating that it had been submitted in response to criticism around the Eagle Hills project in Rasmale'.
However, Attorney General Ahmed Usham earlier stated that the amendment to the Penal Code had been proposed as criminalizing these acts are mandated by the Genocide Convention, which the Maldives signed 42 years ago. He said that despite four decades having passed, Maldives had so far failed to bring the necessary adjustments to the law, adding that it negatively affects and weakens Maldives' legal arguments presented to intervene in cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The Maldives has intervened in cases at the ICJ related to genocide against muslims, including The Gambia vs. Myanmar and South Africa vs. Israel.
As per the proposed amendments to the Penal Code, it will be an offence to commit specific acts against persons based on nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, or group. The acts specified are:
- Killing members belonging to such a group.
- Inflicting serious bodily or mental harm on members belonging to such a group.
- Knowingly and intentionally subjecting members belonging to such a group to conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part.
- Forcibly transferring children belonging to such a group to another group.
According to the bill, this is a first-degree felony. It is an offense for which a basic sentencing standard of a 10-year prison sentence is established. Additionally, as the maximum penalty, a 25-year prison sentence may be imposed.
In addition to committing those acts, directly and publicly inciting to commit them is also an offense.
The bill states that in a prosecution brought under this section, it shall not be a defense that the accused acted pursuant to an order of a superior or that committing the offensive act was something permitted by law.
If this crime is committed by a person holding the position of the President of the Republic, a Minister, a Member of the People's Majlis, a Judge, or a commanding authority in a security service, it is a first-degree felony. In other circumstances, it is a second-degree felony.
