Ex-fighters release only after security vetting, minister says
He said it took a year to rehabilitate the family that was brought home from Syria before.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
The Homeland Security Ministry said on Tuesday that 21 people who have been brought back from Syria will be mainstreamed in society after confirming that they are not of any threat.
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The twenty-one people brought in from Syria consist of five families
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They were brought to Maldives by chartered plane via Türkiye
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They include 15 children and six adults
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5 of them were women; one is a man
They have been taken into custody at the National Integration Center in K. Himmafushi, Minister Ihsan told a news conference on Tuesday. A medical assessment of those brought in on Tuesday confirmed no major illness, he said.
According to him:
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Next there will be special assessments; these assessment will identify their situation
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After identifying their status, the kind of rehabilitation programs they require will be identified
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The programs will be approved by the Rehabilitation and Reintegration Committee
“Our [rehabilitation experts] team will start releasing them into the society once they are convinced that they can live in normal conditions in Maldivian society,” Ihsan said.
The Rehabilitation and Reintegration Committee includes:
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Ministry of Social and Family Development
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Counterterrorism Center
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Police Intelligence Service
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Police Victim Support Department
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Department of Juvenile Justice
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Experts from the National Reintegration Center of the Ministry of Home Land
He said it took a year to rehabilitate the family that was brought home from Syria before. However, the length of time such persons are kept at the center for rehabilitation is based on the condition of the person when they arrive in Maldives, he said. Therefore, it is not known exactly how long the families that arrived on Tuesday will be kept at the centre, he said.
Ihsan added:
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These families will stay at the center for a period determined by the Rehabilitation and Reintegration Committee
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They will be given the opportunity to meet their kin in Maldives at a certain point of their evaluation
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Nothing dangerous to society has happened via the previously rehabilitated people
"We appeal to the Maldivian community to support the state's efforts to ensure that these children [children living within families who went to Syria] get the rights that every Maldivian child deserves. We are confident that we canensure that there is no threat to the local community from anyone we bring back," Ihsan said.
Ihsan urged the community not to do anything that would harm the dignity of the children as the five families brought in on Tuesday are mostly children. Ihsan urged no one to publish the children's personal information and photos.
According to the information released by the Home Ministry on Tuesday:
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There are already 90 people who have applied to come back to Maldives; the government will also work to bring them back
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There are still people in Maldives who want to go to war
Going to participate in wars overseas is an offense punishable under the Prohibition of Terrorism Act. According to the Act:
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Unless proven otherwise, it is an offense to leave Maldives to participate in a war abroad except under circumstances permitted by the Maldivian Government
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If convicted, the penalty is between 17 and 20 years in prison
