241 committee passes inquiry report, mandates armed officers to monitor Nasheed's residence

The People's Majlis committee on national security services or the 241 committee's inquiry report on the May 6 terror attack, has been passed.

A bill has been passed after a thorough inquiry report by the 241 committee in regards to the protection of Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed due to the attack on him on 6th May 2021.

The committee’s report included a total of 45 recommendations. This includes that the police must monitor President Nasheed’s house at all times with weapons.

The main points of the report include that as long as there is a threat to Nasheed, his defense intelligence service is to decide how much security is to be provided according to the level of threat and that police have the authority to use their weapons to kill.

The former president's home is to be monitored with cameras, a close protection team is to be trained for an emergency evacuation protocol, police are to provide their services whenever required, it is to be made sure that the car Nasheed uses is a standard car, members of the close protection team must include those who have completed their Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training with a refresh course to be given to the entire protection team, once a year.

Recommendations also include that, in regards to national security, solutions are to be found with the help of the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and police, to find the guidance of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih a national security advisor is to be appointed, the law to stand by Islamic values is to be strengthened and it is encouraged to find out the threats posed by counter terrorism in order to take the necessary steps.

Further recommendations comprise making changes to the values and laws of the police, bringing about change to administrative work and investing in the development of the intelligence by providing them with a system that can hold a bulk of information and a fair budget.

It is to be made sure that a data base is built on identified extremists, these extremists are monitored by government bodies, suspects of terrorism and extremists are rehabilitated and that rehabilitation programs are to be held according to the state of these suspects.

The recommendations also stress the importance of the public knowing how to report and identify extremists, informing the media to stop spreading fear, the media working to identify extremists and bringing about justice and the importance of the safety petrol being educated.

Furthermore, to stop spreading extremism through education and to put a stop to the extremism being spread in jails through religious programs lead by extremists is also included in the report.

Moreover, the report states that it is to be made sure that another incident like the one on May 6th is to not be repeated in order to preserve the trust the nation has on the government, action is taken against those in high positions who fail to fulfill their duties and it is to be made sure that all parties work towards finding out sources of financial aid towards terrorism and bringing a stop to it.

in addition, the main points of the report conclude that laws are to be imposed on money laundering and financing terrorism, that action must be taken towards those who launder money and that the intelligence must be provided with a budget to fund the analytic tools and automatic machines that they require.

The 241 committee started their inquiry on the 24th of May.