Government lists organizations deemed terrorist groups

The government of Maldives has listed down organizations deemed to be affiliated with terrorism.

The list was publicized on Thursday and compiles a total of 17 organizations.

Coming at the top of the list is jihadist militant group Islamic State (ISIS), followed by Al-Qaeda, one of the most influential terrorist organizations worldwide.

The list continues with rebel group Jabhat Al-Nusra or Nusra Front, Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group primarily battling Indian authority over Jammu and Kashmir as well as Al-Qaeda’s subordinate group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Further organizations include Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Philippine terror group Abu Sayyaf, Boko Haram in Nigeria, militant group Al Shabaab, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, South Asia-based extremist group Harakat-ul Jihad Islami, Pakistani-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Sri Lankan jihadist group National Thawheed Jamaat as well as Jamat-ul-Millat-e-Ibrahim and Wilayat al Selni.

When the Anti-Terrorism Act was implemented in 2015, article 18 of the act states that the President will decide which organizations are deemed terrorist groups.

However, amendments brought to the act in 2016 states that Maldives Police Service will, under the instruction of the National Security Committee, maintain the list of terrorist groups.

The government has sworn to implement amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act once passed and that they will do as stated under the law, in accordance with its zero tolerance to corruption policy.

Some of the amendments state that travelling to war zones outside of the country without authorization will be deemed an offence and so is supporting extremist ideologies.

Acts of terrorism come with a sentence of 20 to 25 years, according to the bill on Anti-Terrorism.