The Home Ministry has submitted a request to the High Court seeking a MoniCon (Monitoring and Control) order against individuals who were freed after the majority of charges pressed by the state, alleging encouragement and plotting of terrorist acts in Th. Thimarafushi, were not proven.
In this case, seven charges were pressed against eight individuals and submitted to the Criminal Court. They are Abdulla Shareef of Fehividhuvaruge, Thimarafushi; Ahsan Mohamed of Ashrafeevilla, same island; Ali Muneez of the same house; Mohamed Aasir of Asurumaage, same island; Samah Shareef of Saimaa, same island; Ali Arham Mohamed of Fehivila, R. Kandholhudhoo; Abdulla Imad of Beach House, R. Maduvvari; and Ibrahim Looth of Rosemead, N. Kudafari.
Among them, guilt was proven against Ali Muneez, Ali Arham Mohamed, Abdulla Imad, and Ibrahim Looth. When the period these four individuals spent in detention was deducted from their sentence duration, only Arham is required to serve a prison sentence.
All others have been freed from prison. Therefore, "Mihaaru" understands that it was decided to monitor them by issuing a MoniCon order under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and the Home Ministry has submitted a request to the High Court for this purpose.
It is also confirmed that a hearing regarding the matter was conducted at the High Court last Tuesday, and information has also been received that the order was issued during that hearing. However, a statement has not been received regarding this from the police, who are tasked with enforcing the order.
The court must reach a decision within 24 hours of the Home Ministry submitting a request to the court for such an order.
This marks the first time in recent times that the High Court has issued an order of this nature.
As stated in the law, an application may be submitted to the court requesting a monitoring and control order against individuals among those suspected who, based on reasonable suspicion, the Minister deems may pose a danger to the community.
The duration of a MoniCon order is one year according to the law. Opportunity is available for the court to extend that period for an additional year. However, enforcement of the order can be halted at any time deemed fit by the Ministry.
Such an order is also one where opportunities exist to request an appeal and a review.
While the Criminal Court ruled that charges of learning tactics required to commit a terrorist act, becoming a member of a terrorist organization, planning to commit a terrorist act, and encouraging a terrorist act pressed in the case involving suspicions of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack in Thimarafushi were not proven, the state has expressed intention to appeal the case.
The state alleges that, under the instruction of Islamic State, preparations were being made to plan and encourage terrorist acts in the Maldives, assemble an IED inside the "Nasaah 3" vessel operated by senior religious extremists active in Thimarafushi, detonate it, and create a threat to the national security of the Maldives.
Going to uninhabited islands under the pretext of trips to learn various combat tactics, conducting classes encouraging extremist ideologies in some houses on that island to spread religious extremism in Thimarafushi, and performing prayers in separate congregations were also reasons sent to press charges against them.
The state has stated that an international intelligence agency had also informed the police that an individual arrested from the vessel expressed interest in joining ISIS to fight, and was searching the internet to carry out a terrorist attack in the Maldives.
In that regard, police stated that a plan was made to blow up the school's laboratory in 2020 coinciding with the time O' Level examinations were being conducted at the Th. Atoll Education Centre, and that the school's laboratory chemical storage storehouse had been broken into during that period.
