A bill proposing amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (No. 32/2015) has been submitted to the People's Majlis, drafted to empower law enforcement officers and to allow the arrest and detainment of terror suspects for upwards of 48 hours without a court order.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act had previously been amended in 2019 to empower officers of the Maldives Police Service (MPS), allowing them to arrest and search terror suspects without a court order.
It had been previously proposed to allow the arrest and detainment of terror suspects for upwards of 48 hours, but the amendment had not passed through the committee stage in 2019, and the result was law enforcements being given a 24-hour window to arrest and detain terror suspects without being mandated by law to present them in front of a judge.
The same amendment to the Prevention of Terrorism Act has been proposed once more in 2021, following a dangerous terror attack which injured the Maldives' first democratically elected president Mohamed Nasheed and four others on 6 May.
Proposed amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (No. 32/2015)
Empowering officers of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to arrest and detain those suspected of terrorism for a period of 48 hours
Detailing the amended procedure to have such suspects presented in front of a judge at court for remand or extension of detention
Detailing the procedure through which officers of the Maldives Police Service can perform search and seizure operations on private property belonging to a party Police can arrest without seeking a court order
Detailing the procedure for dealing with those who have left the Maldives to join militia groups abroad in warzones, in the event that they return to the country
The Attorney General's Office had proposed to have those suspected of traveling to warzones abroad investigated immediately. Even if the person had not been an active fighter, the amendment asks that they be considered at risk of exposure to extremist ideologies, terrorism and propaganda, and calls for measures to be taken to protect communities from their influence. An amendment was also proposed to allow such parties to receive rehabilitation treatment following their return from war.
A third amendment was proposed to have those sentenced to a monitoring and control order, those in detention for suspected terrorism, those extremist fighters convicted of terrorism, and those who have returned to Maldives from warzones, be given a legally mandated opportunity at rehabilitation treatment until they are fit to rejoin society, starting from the moment they are presented in front of the law on home soil.
According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the act of killing or causing any bodily harm or intent to carry out such actions to persons with the intention of creating fear or terror or with a political motive can be defined as an act of terrorism. In addition to this, the act or the intention of kidnapping or abduction of persons or of taking hostages, the act or the intention of hijacking of any vessel or vehicle can also be considered acts of terror. This definition of terror acts also includes unauthorized import of any explosive substance, ammunition or fire arms into the country, the production of such substance or equipment, the use, storage, sale or interchange of such substance or equipment in the Maldives. Further, use or intent of use of any explosive substance, ammunition or fire arms or any form of weaponry so as to cause harm or damage to persons or property, and the act of or intent of arson, so as to cause harm or damage to persons or property, can also be considered acts of terror under the law.
Previous amendments to the Prevention of Terror Act had empowered Police to perform arrests sans a court order if they felt the terroir suspect was in possession of weapons, ammunition or firearms, or if they were suspected of having used such weapons.
The amendment to once again give Police officers greater authority in conducting counter-terrorism operations comes just a few short weeks after an explosion had rocked the the Maldives' capital Male' City earlier in May. A targeted assassination attempt against former president and Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, Police and officials of the Maldives National Defense Force have since come forward with concerns that extremists capable of executing such acts of terror are roaming freely in Maldivian communities.
Minister of Home Affairs Sheikh Imran Abdulla had recently acceded in parliament that there were a number of people capable of acts of terror living in Maldives, and had stated that they could not be arrested unless they had executed or begun executing a prosecutable act of terror.
