Supreme Court to decide on meting out Sharia punishments
Amendments brought to the new penal code today state that the Supreme Court must pass a final sentence before convicts found guilty of offences for which penalties are prescribed in Islamic Sharia are punished.
27 Aug 2015, 9:00 AM
The parliament today amended the new penal code to require all appeal processes be exhausted before Islamic sharia punishments can be meted out to convicts.
The amendments proposed by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Thoriq state that the Supreme Court must pass a final sentence before convicts found guilty of offences for which penalties are prescribed in Islamic Sharia are punished.
These offences include murder, fornication, theft, apostasy and drinking alcohol, for which punishment ranges from death penalty to public flogging.
The amendments also authorises the president “to make decisions” on such punishments in accordance with Islamic Sharia. The president has the authority to pardon convicts and commute sentences under the clemency law.
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