The High Court has cancelled its hearing for the case pushing to have clauses in the Defamation Act annulled.

The case, for which a hearing was only scheduled 10 months after it was filed, pursues annulment of these clauses on the grounds that they obstruct constitutionally guaranteed liberties.

It was filed by lawyers Maumoon Hameed, Mahaaz Shareef, and Ibrahim Shameel, who had asked for indictments on the enforcement of defamation allegations since the case was accepted by the court in January.

The lawyers have also asked the High Court to order the parliament to amend the act to ‘standards that fit modern democratic principles’.

The law was ratified in August, and even before it had been proposed in parliament, political opposition and journalists had protested it over restrictions it would place on the freedom of speech.

The Defamation Act – officially the Act on Defamation and Freedom of Speech – which was written by pro-government lawmaker MP Ahmed Nihan outlaws comments defaming individuals, anti-Islamic rhetoric, and statements that are considered to be ‘threats to national security’.

Individuals and organizations found guilty under the act are liable for fines between MVR 50,000 and 2 million.