Parliament could force journalists to reveal sources under new Privileges Act, warn police, MJA
10 Mar 2013, 12:40 PM
Mohamed Naahee
The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) and Maldives Police Service have both expressed concern over the recently passed Parliamentary Privileges Act.
The bill was forced into law last week after parliamentarians voted by a majority of 41 to overrule a previous presidential veto. The Majlis had originally approved the bill and sent it for ratification on December 27, 2012.
The bill was later returned by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.
In a statement released on Sunday (March 10), the MJA claimed the legislation posed serious challenges for free and independent journalism. The association therefore urged parliament to “immediately” change the extra-constitutional clauses that it said compromised the rights and freedom given to journalists by the constitution.
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