The parliament on Monday approved the government-backed amendment bill to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which accords greater authorities to the police, including the right to make warrantless arrests in terrorism cases.
The bill, lobbied by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s Parliamentary Group's Deputy Leader and Henveiru South MP Hussain Shaheem, was passed unanimously by the 52 lawmakers present at the third extraordinary sitting of the ongoing 19th parliament.
As per the new amendments, Police are authorised to make warrantless arrests for certain criminal acts that constitute terrorism, as well as conduct inspections and strip searches under specific circumstances.
The bill criminalises supporting extremist ideologies, including political and religious extremism, and fear mongering within society.
The amendment also criminalises the act of departing for war zones without authorisation by the administration. While the current Act recognises partaking in a foreign conflict as a crime, the new changes criminalise all unauthorised attempts to go to any war zones.
Furthermore, under the new bill, the government will establish temporary detention centres for insurgents who return to Maldives from foreign conflicts.
In addition, the newly approved amendments criminalises withholding information about acts or plans for terrorism from intelligence authorities.
The newly approved amendments also specify hefty prison sentences for anyone convicted of terrorism. While the bill originally stated that any persons arrested under terrorism accusations must be presented in front of a judge within 48 hours to determine whether their detention is in accordance with the law, the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations narrowed the period down to 24 hours.
The amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act were met with concern from the public, including lawmakers of the ruling MDP who met with the government. While MDP expressed concerns that the new changes would infringe on basic human rights and individual freedom, in particular the new powers granted to the police to make warrantless arrests, the President's Office's Legal Counsel Abdulla Afeef assured that the bill would not curb any major rights.
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