AG Riffath to face questions in Majlis on legal impediments to detaining dangerous terror actors
Home Minister Sheikh Imran had stated that despite amendments to the law, there were still impediments to detaining parties considered a danger to society
Attorney General Uz. Ibrahim Riffath has been presented with questions by the People's Majlis following comments made by Home Minister Sheikh Imran at parliament earlier this week
A motion has been submitted to parliament to summon Attorney General Uz. Ibrahim Riffath into questioning, relating to legal impediments limiting law enforcement authorities from detaining dangerous terror actors deemed a threat to citizens' safety and national security, following comments made by Minister of Home Affairs Sheikh Imran Abdulla to that effect.
Member of Parliament for Ungoofaaru constituency Mohamed Waheed had submitted the motion to question AG Riffath at parliament. In presenting questions to be answered by AG Riffath, MP Mohamed Waheed had highlighted comments made by Home Minister Imran in parliament earlier this week. Minister Imran had noted legal impediments to arresting terror actors despite amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (No. 32/2015). Minister Imran also highlighted lack of legal frameworks to support the detention of such people by the state for the purpose of rehabilitation.
As such, MP Mohamed Waheed had proposed to question AG Ibrahim Riffath on the legal impediments to detaining such malicious actors, and how those obstacles could be resolved. MP Mohamed Waheed also presented a question as to why such a critical issue had remained unresolved from a legal perspective until now.
During the sitting of parliament conducted on 24 May, MP for Hulhudhoo constituency Ilyas Labeeb had asked Minister Imran how many dangerous parties suspected of terrorism had been arrested, following amendments made in 2019 to the Prevention of Terrorism Act by parliament while in recess.
In answering MP Ilyas' question, Home Minsiter Imran had stated that despite amendments to the law, authorities were still powerless to detain them, or to have them undergo a rehabilitation process while under the state's custody.
MP for Madaveli constituency Hussain Firushan had posed the question whether there were any dangerous terror actors, such as those capable of constructing IEDs, as identified by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) who were roaming freely among Maldivian communities. MP Firushan had questioned why authorities were failing to identify and arrest such individuals.
Home Minister Imran had, in answering MP Firushan, acceded that there were highly dangerous actors as those capable of constructing IEDs hiding in plain sight within communities. Minister Imran had highlighted this as dangerous, and asserted that there should be legal frameworks supporting their detention or rehabilitation.
Minister Imran had stated that authorities had been in discussions with the Attorney General's Office on how the law could be amended to resolve such legal impediments.
While it can be noted that a number of changes have been made to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, law enforcement authorities still maintain that those amendments do not facilitate the detention of malicious actors suspected of terrorism, who present a great risk to citizens' safety and national security.
Following these developments at parliament, Sunday morning saw Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem share a tweet linked to the PGO website, consolidating both amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act for public reference.
