Local journalists have banded together to submit a petition to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih calling him to amend Article 136 of the new Evidence Bill.
The petition initiated by the Maldives Journalist Association MJA was signed by 158 journalists and was also submitted to the Attorney General.
The petition calls on the President not to ratify the newly-passed Evidence Bill without the amendment proposed by the journalists and requests him to send the bill back to the Parliament.
Journalists are concerned about Article 136 as it provisions reporters to reveal their sources in certain circumstances. The Petition said has called for a revision of the article, particularly the mandate under which a court case would depend on revealing the source.
It had asked the relevant authorities to replace the civil mandate defined in the law and replace them with guidelines of 'necessity' and 'professionality'.
The journalists have also asked the term 'national security' to be removed from the bill which says that in such cases reporters must be forced to give up the identity of the sources.
They have also asked for broader clarification of terrorism-related crimes which authorities could also use to force reporters to share their sources under the new Evidence Bill.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the petition, MJA president Rishfan said the fact that more than 150 journalists had signed the petition showed the gravity of their concerns about the bill. He further said that source protection is a right guaranteed by the Constitution and is one of the main pillars of journalistic values.
He added while journalists have been saying that hindering this right could put the safety of the public in jeopardy, President Solih must heed their concerns.
