Indonesia approves new anti-terror law after series of attacks

Indonesia approves new anti-terror law after series of attacks

SURABAYA, May 14, 2018 (Xinhua) Indonesian police officers secure the area following a bomb blast at Surabaya

RIAU, May 16, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian bomb squad search a vehicle for explosives following an attack on a police headquarters in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia, May 16, 2018. One policeman was killed and 4 militants were shot dead in an attack on a police headquarters in Riau province of Indonesia on Wednesday, police said. (Xinhua/Hadly Vavaldi/IANS)

Jakarta, May 25 (IANS) The Indonesian parliament on Friday approved a new anti-terror law that allows security forces to detain suspects for a longer period, two weeks after the country witnessed its worst terrorist attacks since 2005.

Muhammad Syafii, President of the parliamentary committee responsible for the law, said the law aims to regulate acts of terrorism, which were not considered a crime until now, reports Efe news agency.

Under the new law, the police would be allowed to detain terror suspects for 21 days instead of the current seven-day-period.

The maximum period allowed between the arrest and beginning of the trial has also been raised to more than two years.

Members of the House of Representatives - the lower house - also approved an amendment to the definition of terrorism, which will now include political motives.

The role of the military in the fight against terrorism, which was an exclusive domain of the police until now in the country, would come into force through a presidential decree.

A recent wave of attacks, in which more than 30 people have been killed since May 13, however, had led President Joko Widodo to threaten to issue a decree if the law was not passed.

The National Commission on Human Rights said in a statement that it was as necessary to guarantee the rights of victims of terrorism as it was to enforce accountability of the security forces.

The recent attacks, including three bombings in churches and an attack on a police station in Surabaya - the second biggest city of the country - have been linked to a local group affiliated to the Islamic State.

Indonesia, where Muslims form 88 per cent of a 260-million-strong population, has witnessed a number of terrorist attacks, including a bomb attack in 2002 on the Bali island that had killed 202 people.

--IANS

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