Gazette on rehabilitating people arrested over extremist activities issued

An extraordinary gazette notification containing new regulations to rehabilitate the individuals who surrenders or is taken into custody over extremist activities has been issued on Friday (March 12).

The regulations were made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under Section 27 of Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979.

The regulations may be cited as Prevention of Terrorism (De-Radicalization from holding violent extremist religious ideology) Regulations No. 1 of 2021, the gazette notification read further.

Objective of the regulations is to ensure that any individual who surrenders or is arrested over extremist activities are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The gazette further read that ‘Reintegration Centres’ will be set up for the purpose of rehabilitating the persons who surrender or are arrested.

“The Attorney-General is of the opinion that according to the nature of the offence committed a surrendee or detainee shall be rehabilitated at a Centre in lieu of instituting criminal proceedings against him, such surrendee or detainee shall be produced before a Magistrate with the written approval of the Attorney-General.”

(Source: Ada Derana)