By Abdi Muse
Mogadishu (RBC) New counter-terrorism law in Somalia which the council of ministers approved last week is set to affect the telecommunication and money remittance companies in Mogadishu, sources told RBC Radio.
The legislation which was announced on Thursday, four days after a deadly terrorist attack in the capital that killed more than 30 people and wounded 58 others, is intended to become a key component to prevent terrorism activities including explosions and assassination killings which left hundreds of Somali citizens dead.
According officials familiar with the legislation, the new law criminalizes any telecom firm or remittance agency to deal with members of Al Shabab fighters. Hotel owners and car rentals are also required to identify their clients if they had involved any terrorist networks.
Under the new bill, the country’s law enforcement officials are permitted to hold suspects in connection with terrorism in jail for more than 48 hours even without any charges replacing the earlier law that prohibited such detention.
The interior minister of Somalia Federal Government Abdikarin Hussein Guled said that the bill now awaits for parliament debate and ratification but the government will proceed using the law as permanent document.
“This legislation has come up with most important points in fight against terrorists in Somalia.” the minister told state-run radio on Friday. “It is not about a case of arrest, but it is about protecting the national security.”
“We are in the last stages of a military campaign against an enemy that has been reduced to terrorism and guerrilla operations,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday after the new draft legislation was approved by the council of the ministers.
RBC Radio
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