President: Those who don’t pay defamation fine cannot be kept from jail

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said that a President cannot build a society that respects the people’s rights without imprisoning those who refuse to pay the fine for defamation.

Speaking at a special ceremony at Kalhuthukalaa Koshi military base tonight celebrating the 124th anniversary of the Maldives National Defence Force, President Yameen said that whoever that does not pay the fine for defamation would have to find occupancy at a prison cell.

The President said that the courts currently acquire MVR 4,000 for defamation but at the current state of the country, about MVR 25,000 to 60,000 goes to hire a lawyer.

After raising the question of why it is important to stand up against defamation, President Yameen said that the fine for defamation needs to be raised and those who does not pay it needs to be put in prison.

The President said that the guilty party in defamation needs to know that the law would catch up to them.

The bill of Anti-Defamation and Freedom of Speech was presented at the Parliament by the Leader of the PPM Parliamentary Group, the MP for Vili-Malé constituency, Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik. The debate on the bill is yet to take place at the parliament.