Parliament has decided to hold an extraordinary sitting to pass the amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The extraordinary sitting will be held on Thursday at 10am.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary Group leader Ali Azim proposed to hold the extraordinary sitting, according to article 45(d) of the Parliament Regulation.

The only item in the agenda for the extraordinary sitting is the amendment bill to the Anti-Terrorism Act proposed by South Henveiru MP Hussain Shameem on behalf of the government.

At a recent press conference, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that changes need to be made to the Anti-Terrorism Act as authorities move forward with the investigation on the kidnapping and murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, since the laws need to better define what terrorism is and make it easier for authorities to arrest terrorist suspects.

The President also said that there will be circumstances where suspects will have to be kept imprisoned longer than is currently allowed by law, to give the prosecutor general, police service, and the courts more time to investigate serious terrorism-related cases.