Suspected terror fighter released under Monicon order

The 34-year-old suspected local insurgent who was arrested after returning to Maldives from Syria back in October, has been released after a court mandated "assessment".

Police said that the man was released on December 3 last year, after being detained at the National Reintegration Centre; he was the first detainee at the centre established in K.Himmafushi for insurgents who return to Maldives from foreign conflicts, to ensure whether they took part in acts of terrorism or received any such trainings.

Noting that he was released under a Monicon order, police assured that his movements will be “monitored” despite release.

The man was arrested on October 15 upon return from Syria, with the police commissioner revealing that the suspect was on the police’s potential list of local Foreign Terrorist Fighters or FTFs.

According to police, some 173 Maldivians had travelled to join the Syrian conflict, through numerous terror groups. A number of them have since been requesting to return home, mostly local widows and orphans; Commissioner Mohamed Hameed had said that women and children contribute to 91 percent of those requesting to return home.

The government has announced plans to bring them back, who are to be rehabilitated in a designated center with the help of foreign countries prior to release into community; the Himmafushi centre is the first specialized center to rehabilitate jihadists, mandated under a recent amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Criminal Court remanded the 34-year-old for 30 days, to complete the assessment required by law.