The government of Maldives has added to the list of organizations deemed to be affiliated with terrorism and listed down a war zone.
The President’s Office made a publication in the government gazette on Thursday which reveals that Syria has been deemed as a war zone by the Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations.
Added to the list of terror groups was Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and al-Qaeda group in Syria, Hurras al-Din.
The government had listed down organizations deemed to be affiliated with terrorism back in September and compiles a total of 17 organizations;
1. Jihadist militant group Islamic State (ISIS),
2. Al-Qaeda, one of the most influential terrorist organizations worldwide,
3. Rebel group Jabhat Al-Nusra or Nusra Front,
4. Pakistan-based group primarily battling Indian authority over Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-e-Taiba,
5. Al-Qaeda’s subordinate group, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,
6. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),
7. Philippine terror group Abu Sayyaf,
8. Boko Haram in Nigeria,
9. militant group Al Shabaab,
10. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent,
11. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,
12. South Asia-based extremist group Harakat-ul Jihad Islami,
13. Pakistani-based Jaish-e-Mohammed,
14. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,
15. Sri Lankan jihadist group National Thawheed Jamaat,
16. Jamat-ul-Millat-e-Ibrahim, and
17. Wilayat al Selni.
The list now has a total of 19 groups with the addition of two more groups on Thursday.
When the Anti-Terrorism Act was implemented in 2015, article 18 of the act stated 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 been following through its pledge to enforce the recently ratified Anti-Terrorism Act, in accordance with its zero tolerance to corruption policy.
Some of the amendments in the Act 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 Anti-Terrorism Act.
