President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the third amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act on Wednesday. The Bill was passed by Parliament at the 44th sitting of its third session of this year on Monday, November 29, 2021.
The Bill has brought amendments to the sections relating to arrest without a warrant, search and seizure of private premises and remand of accused persons. It allows the police to arrest and detain suspects for 48 hours without a court warrant.
Furthermore, the procedures and rules for returning fighters have been outlined in the Bill.
This Bill, once ratified, would mandate the children of fighters who were born in conflict zones to be registered before their return, if their birth had not been registered previously according to the Maldives laws. Returning fighters would also be placed in detention and mandated to complete rehabilitation programmes. The Bill details the rights of the detainees and the special measures that are put in place to help safeguard the welfare of the children of the fighters.
Following ratification, the Act has been published in the Government Gazette and has now come into effect.
