Parliament accepts bill allowing investigators to withhold passports without court warrant

Parliament has today accepted the Bill on Amendments to the Immigration Act, which seeks to allow the Department of Immigration and Emigration to withholds passports on request of the police or other investigating bodies, without a court warrant.

Presented by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) member, Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza, the bill was accepted for consideration with 45 votes in favor and 19 votes against, and sent to the Committee on National Security for review today.

The amendment will also allows the police and independent institutions with investigative privileges to order the Immigration Department to hold the passport of an individual for a period not exceeding 24 hours.

The bill, however, requires the relevant institution to seek a court warrant if they wish to hold a person’s passport for more than 24 hours, and gives the Controller of Immigration and Emigration the sole right to pursue or deny an institution’s request to withhold a passport.

During the parliament debate of the bill today, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs argued that the amendment will allow the government to restrict the freedom of movement of opposition members. They also accused the government of trying to hoard the powers of the State.

Ruling PPM MPs denied the allegations and said that the amendment will serve to allow the government to prevent serious criminals from leaving the country to flee investigations and prosecution.

The first reading of the bill was held during the second sitting of the second session of the Parliament on 6 June 2014.