Parliament on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Drugs Act that introduces the death penalty for major drug-smuggling offences. The bill passed with 65 votes in favour and no votes against. It now awaits ratification by President Mohamed Muizzu before it becomes law.
The government submitted the amendment in December last year to increase penalties for serious drug offences and introduce heavier fines. Current law limits sentences to a maximum of 25 years and does not include capital punishment.
The amendment sets three thresholds for imposing the death penalty. These are possession or importation of more than 350 grammes of cannabis, more than 250 grammes of diamorphine, and more than 100 grammes of any Schedule One drug other than cannabis or diamorphine. Schedule One contains 139 substances commonly found in the Maldives.
The drugs must have been brought into the country by the accused at the time they entered the country.
The death penalty applies only after lower court proceedings end and the Supreme Court issues a unanimous ruling. The bench must review all legal points and the circumstances of the case before confirming the sentence.
If one Supreme Court justice refuses to impose the death penalty while the majority finds the defendant guilty, the sentence will be life imprisonment and a fine between MVR 100,000 and MVR 10 million.