Lawful action will be taken against those who make threats of violence: Police Commissioner

Commissioner of Police, Mohamed Hameed has assured that lawful action will be taken against those who openly make threats of violence to individuals.

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Commissioner Hameed assured the Maldives Police Service (MPS)’s commitment to take action against those threatening individuals of violence alongside taking action against those carrying out acts and inciting speech against Islam.

Assuring the public that MPS will closely monitor such cases, Hameed encouraged the public to report MPS on “both these extremes”.

Police is currently investigating the case submitted by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs against Maldives Democracy Network (MDN) for its “Preliminary Assessment of Radicalization in Maldives” report, deemed to have content that contradicts Islamic tenets and soils the name of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

MPS revealed that its investigations have been highly prioritized, adding that everyone behind the report “will be held accountable”.

MDN’s report was published years ago and they have since, very recently apologized for the language used in it after coming under fire from public scrutiny.

While the second amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act was ratified on Thursday, it allows police “to arrest terror suspects without a warrant, conduct invasive body searches, deny private consultations with legal counsel and detain suspects for 48 hours before taking them before a judge.”

The bill also criminalizes supporting extremist ideologies, including political and religious extremism, and spreading fear within society, as well as any attempts to go to any war zones without authorization.

The amendments also specify hefty prison sentences for anyone convicted of terrorism.