Terrorism Prevention Bill passed by parliament

The parliament has passed the Terrorism Prevention Bill.

The bill was returned to the committee by the parliament for further review yesterday.

It was passed with 49 votes in favour and 22 against. There were three abstentions.

The committee revised Article 62 of the bill, which previously stated that the bill shall be implemented three months after it is passed by the parliament.

After revision, Article 62 states that the bill will be implemented from the day it is ratified by the President and published on the Government Gazette.

The bill was submitted to parliament by Ihavandhoo MP Mohamed Abdulla.

The bill aims to make the Terrorism Act, which came into force in 1990, more relevant to current international standards and the present situation.

Acts which shall be construed as terrorism, as defined in the bill are:

- The act of killing or causing bodily harm or intent to carry out such actions to persons, with the intention of creating fear or terror, or with a political motive

- The act or intention of kidnapping or abduction of persons or of taking hostages

- The act of causing harm or damage to persons or property

- The act or intention of hijacking of vessels or vehicles

- The act of causing health risks to a group of people or the general public

It further states that the act of terrorism also includes distribution, circulation, sale, display, and broadcast of documents created by terrorist organisations, and the penalty for this crime shall be prison for a period between seven and ten years.

Sharing such information via TV, radio, or internet is also a crime, which carries a prison sentence of between ten and 15 years; as is encouraging or supporting terrorist agendas, which carries a prison sentence of between 17 and 20 years.