Economic sabotage, genocide offences and insurance review

The government proposed amendments to the penal code that would criminalise treason and endangering economic security. Knowingly or recklessly causing major damage to the economy, including by disrupting essential services, damaging critical infrastructure or connected computer systems, or any act that halts a major source of state revenue, would also become a crime, carrying heavier penalties for senior officials. Waging war against the Maldives, joining a party at war with it, or allying with and aiding an enemy at home or abroad, would be a class one felony carrying up to 25 years in jail. Other changes include raising the punishment for criticising Islam, upgrading the offence from a class one misdemeanour to a class four felony if premeditated with intent to sow hatred towards Islam or undermine religious unity. It would otherwise be a class five felony otherwise.

Former Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem, who led the drafting of the Penal Code, called the bill a “malicious” piece of legislation designed to criminalise state officials. Writing on his blog, Shameem said the treason and economic damage provisions appeared to target particular individuals and could make ordinary decisions by ministers, or even the president, a criminal offence, creating fear among officials who need legal protection to carry out their mandate.

The same bill would criminalise acts of genocide against national, ethnic, racial or religious groups. Mirroring the wording of the Genocide Convention, which the Maldives ratified in 1984 and which the bill cites as its aim, the bill proposes to criminalise killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group, inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy it in whole or in part, imposing measures to prevent births, or forcibly transferring its children to another group as a class one felony. Direct and public incitement to genocide would be a class one felony for public officials and security service commanders and a class two felony for others.

Attorney General Usham said the amendments were proposed because the Maldives' failure to enact legislation required under the Genocide Convention 42 years after ratification weakens the legal positions it has taken in its interventions in the Gambia v Myanmar and South Africa v Israel cases at the International Court of Justice. But Shameem argued the bill did not fulfil the convention’s purpose as it said nothing about the jurisdiction of international tribunals.

Parliament’s public accounts committee decided to study either cancelling or extending to all citizens the health insurance provided to MPs and other state employees, after more than 7,000 people signed an e-petition calling for the special insurance to be scrapped. PNC MP Ahmed Azaan, who proposed the review, said cancelling only MPs' cover would be unfair because the same law covers staff of the courts, police, military and other state bodies, noting that the package costs about MVR200 million (US$13 million) a year for police and military personnel alone.

The ruling party proposed a bill that would allow children who cannot attend school due to a physical or mental disability or other special circumstances to be home-schooled, provided their guardians can afford it and the child is registered at a school, with the education ministry registering and regulating home-schooling providers. It would also provide meals for students who struggle to get food at school and require the academic year to begin in January, or by the end of February at the latest.

Customs seized 6.75 kilos of synthetic cathinones (bath salts) from an airfreight shipment. Police said it arrested four Bangladesh men in relation to the smuggling following a controlled delivery operation conducted jointly by Customs and drug enforcement and counter narcotics. MD Mizannoor Rahman, 41 was remanded for the duration of the trial, while the remaining three, MD Jihad Bin Areef, 20, Mirza Al Ameen, 30 and MD Arman Ali were remanded for 15 days by the court.

Maldives Monetary Authority reminded businesses earning foreign currency to convert 40 per cent of their income as required under the Foreign Currency Act, warning that it will publicly name those that fail to comply. Foreign currency income received in each calendar month must be converted before the 28th of the following month, the MMA said.

Shaviyani Atoll Hospital advised Funadhoo residents not to collect or use rainwater and to avoid getting wet in the rain, saying smoke and oil from Sunday's fire at the island's petrol shed could have contaminated the rain with harmful substances.

The ruling party's supermajority squashed an MDP motion calling on the government to disclose its agreement with Eagle Hills to hand over 500 hectares of reclaimed land in Rasmalé, with 45 PNC MPs voting against and 10 MDP MPs in favour. During the debate, MDP MPs Dr Ahmed Shamheed and Mauroof Zakir called for a referendum on the project, while PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah said there was no need to seek public opinion as all PNC MPs strongly backed it.

Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla rejected a motion without notice submitted by Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir against the public accounts committee’s decision to approve pay hikes for MPs, ministers and councillors. The speaker said it did not meet the requirements for such a motion since the matter is scheduled to be discussed on the floor and each MP would be allowed to speak about the topic then.