Shariah Punishments in the Islamic Republics of Mauritania and Maldives, and Islamic State of Yemen

Abstract

The Mauritanian Criminal Code 1983 identified a number of ḥudūd crimes. In 1984, the code was amended to include the death penalty for apostates. In 2008, Maldives adopted a new constitution containing a clause that no law contrary to Islam can be enacted in the Maldives. A new Penal Code was introduced in 2014, yet with regard to ḥudūd, this code has only one section, which makes shariah punishments applicable in the country. The Islamic State of Yemen introduced its Law of Crimes and Punishments (No. 12/1994), as the first ever Penal Code in its history. This code divided crimes into two types: crimes punished with ḥudūd or qiṣāṣ, and crimes punished by the judge’s discretion (taʿzīr). The code then makes provisions for seven ḥudūd crimes.