Anti-Terrorism Bill is a shield

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi yesterday said the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2018 can help Government remove TT nationals who find themselves trapped in zones of terrorist activity. “This is not only a sword, it’s a shield,” Al-Rawi told members of the Concerned Muslims of TT during a public hearing of the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2018 at Tower D, Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre.

Al-Rawi said the legislation will give TT the opportunity to provide a clear record to a foreign government that its nationals are not terrorists. “Right now there is no way to exculpate any of our citizens who find themselves in those scenarios,” he said. Al-Rawi also said Government does not consider the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) or Al Qaeda terrorist groups, to be representative of TT’s Muslim community.

He acknowledged the concern of group president Shiraz Ali and public relations officer Imtiaz Mohammed that the bill could be anti-Muslim. Al-Rawi asked if the removal of the names of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other United Nations listed terrorist groups being removed from the bill would make it less offensive.

On the designation of certain places as areas of terrorist activity, Al-Rawi gave the assurance that Government would never designate Saudi Arabia or the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as such. He said there must be balance between protecting the rights of local Muslims who go annually to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage and guarding against any person who could be deemed a foreign terrorist fighter.