An extraordinary gazette notification containing new regulations to rehabilitate individuals who surrender or are taken into custody over extremist activities was issued on Friday (12).
The regulations were issued by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under Section 27 of Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979.
The new regulations ‘may be cited as Prevention of Terrorism (De-Radicalization from holding violent extremist religious ideology) Regulations No. 1 of 2021’.
‘Reintegration Centres’ will be set up for the purpose of rehabilitating the persons who surrender or are arrested, according to the gazette.
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 Attorney-General is of the opinion that according to the nature of the offence committed the person who surrender 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.”