MALDIVES: MP MUTHALIB REISSUES DEATH SENTENCE AMENDMENT TO PARLIAMENT

Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muthalib resubmitted an amendment to the Maldivian Clemency Act that if passed would require any death sentence then upheld by the Supreme Court to be carried out. Currently, death penalties imposed within the Maldives are able to be reduced to a 25 years prison sentence by the president under the Clemency Act. Muthalib said the purpose of the amendment was to uphold Islamic Shariah. . “[The amendment aims] to avoid human beings from changing the verdict determined by Islamic Shariah,” said Muthalib. If the amendment gets passed, the president would not then have the authority to grant clemency on persons found guilty of murder, according to the parliamentarian.