The government has published a list of terrorist organizations, maintaining the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which recently took control of Syria's new government, as a terrorist group, while not including Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as terrorist organizations despite their ongoing genocide and mass killings of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
HTS took control of Syria after overthrowing the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad. This group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the Maldives since 2019.
Based on the advice of the National Security Council, under Section 18(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (Law No. 32/2015), the president republished the list of terrorist organizations and conflict zones designated on 9 October 2023, including other names used by these organizations, their branches, and the date of their designation as terrorist organizations, without any amendments, in the government gazette.
However, the current administration, which claimed it would be the strongest advocate for the rights of Palestinians, has not even banned Israeli passports so far. The issue has been stalled in the 241 Committee of the People’s Majlis, where the government holds a supermajority, for several months.
In addition to this, it has been decided that Israel's ruling party, government, and military (IDF), which are carrying out genocide against Gaza, slaughtering thousands of innocent children, women, and elderly, and destroying all of Gaza's infrastructure, will not be recognized as terrorists by the Maldives.
Legal experts have stated that if the president wishes, he can designate Israel and the Israeli military as terrorist organizations under Article 18 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, based on the advice of the National Security Council. They affirmed that there are no obstacles to this and that it is within the president's authority.
The list includes 20 organizations designated as terrorist groups:
- Al-Qaeda (AQ)
- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
- Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)
- Jabhat al-Nusra (JN)
- Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
- Hurras al-Din
- Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
- Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISKP)
- Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
- Boko Haram
- Al-Shabaab
- National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ)
- Jamathei Milathu Ibrahim (JMI)
- Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET)
- Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
- Wilayat as-Seylani (WAS)
- Jaish-e-Mohammed
- Harkat ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI)
- Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD)
Further, only one area is listed as a conflict zone: the entire territory of Syria.
Traveling to places included in the list published by the president under the Anti-Terrorism Act is also a legal offense. The law requires this list to be published annually.
