Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy.

The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.”

Thresholds for Capital Punishment

Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country:

• Cannabis: More than 350 grams.
• Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams.
• Other Category 1 Drugs: Any quantity exceeding 100 grams.

For the death penalty to be imposed, the individual must have been in physical possession of the drugs while entering the country. Furthermore, the law requires a unique judicial safeguard: a death sentence can only be carried out if it is upheld by a unanimous verdict from the full bench of the Supreme Court.

Stricter Life Sentences

If the Supreme Court bench does not reach a unanimous decision, the offender will instead face life imprisonment. The amendment has also redefined "life imprisonment" for drug offenses; while previously capped at 25 years, it now signifies imprisonment until death without the possibility of parole, presidential pardon, or clemency.

The "no parole" rule is a departure from previous Maldivian prison regulations, which often allowed for sentence reviews after 15–20 years.

Additionally, the state is now barred from entering into plea bargains with defendants facing these high-level trafficking charges.

International and Legal Pushback

The activation of the law has drawn sharp criticism from international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN). Critics argue that the expansion of capital punishment to drug offenses violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the Maldives is a party.

"Drug offenses do not meet the 'most serious crimes' threshold required under international law for the imposition of the death penalty," ADPAN stated in a recent joint briefing.

Within the Maldives, the legal community is also divided. Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al-Suood expressed skepticism regarding the policy shift, questioning whether the focus on capital punishment addresses the root causes of addiction and the domestic drug trade.

A Region Divided

With this law, the Maldives joins a small group of Asian nations—most notably Singapore—that enforce or retain the death penalty for narcotics. While the Maldives has maintained a moratorium on executions since the 1950s, the current administration’s push to formalize these penalties in the Narcotics Act suggests a renewed willingness to consider the ultimate sanction.

President Muizzu has previously stated that while the government "does not wish to impose the death penalty," the law serves as a necessary deterrent against the "poison" of the drug trade.

Moratorium

For over 70 years, the Maldives has been characterized by a unique legal paradox: it remains a "retentionist" state that sentences people to death but refuses to carry out the executions. This long-standing de facto moratorium is one of the most enduring in the world, though it has faced repeated challenges from shifting political administrations.

The Maldives last carried out a judicial execution in 1954, during the presidency of Mohamed Amin Didi. The execution—carried out by firing squad—involved Hakim Didi, who was convicted of using black magic to attempt an assassination of the president. Since that time, while the courts have continued to hand down death sentences for crimes such as intentional murder (and now major drug trafficking), every administration has effectively stayed the hand of the executioner.

The moratorium first came under serious threat in 2014 under the administration of President Abdulla Yameen. Driven by a rise in violent crime, the government introduced new regulations to facilitate executions by lethal injection and, later, hanging.

The government argued that the death penalty was a requirement of Sharia law.

The age of criminal responsibility for certain capital offenses was controversially lowered, theoretically allowing the death penalty for minors (to be carried out once they reached 18).

High-profile inmates, such as Hussain Humaam Ahmed, were moved to the brink of execution, though intense international pressure ultimately prevented the sentences from being carried out.

In 2018, the administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih reaffirmed the moratorium, signaling a return to the country's historical status quo. However, the 2023 election of President Mohamed Muizzu has reignited the debate.

While the new Narcotics Act amendment activates the death penalty for drug trafficking as of March 2026, the historical moratorium remains a powerful precedent. Currently, there are estimated to be approximately 19 to 21 individuals on death row in the Maldives. Whether the Muizzu administration will become the first in seven decades to break the moratorium remains the central question for human rights observers.

Source: DPN, News outlets, Staff, AI, March 8, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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