What Does anti Terrorism Law Mean
Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former police chief and supporter of the bill, said the Human Security Act of 2007 “has proven to have failed in terms of effectiveness as an anti-terrorism measure,” in part because it is lenient on offenders and restrictive on perpetrators. But lawyer Colmenares argues that for the Duterte government, “terrorism is any form of dissent.” Since the Philippine House of Representatives passed a new anti-terrorism law on June 3, protests have rocked the Philippines. The recent conviction of Maria Ressa, a famous journalist who covered the bloody war on drugs in the Philippines, is a chilling indication of how President Rodrigo Duterte will enforce the anti-terrorism law. When calls for social media to drop the law (#JunkTerrorBill) multiplied, the Philippine Department of Justice announced on September 11. June – the day before the country`s Independence Day – it was announced that protest rallies had been temporarily banned. Despite the threat of arrest, hundreds of people continued to demonstrate against the law. In 2014, the government arrested at least nine people for violating the 2009 law by publishing articles critical of the government. In 2015, a former spokesman for an opposition party in Addis Ababa was charged with terrorism for making statements on Facebook criticizing the government`s crackdown on protests. A wave of arrests was directed against members and members of the Ethiopian opposition following the October 2016 anti-government protests. Among the twenty-two people arrested and charged two months later was an opposition leader who had already been arrested in 2011 on terrorism charges.
In 2018, a new prime minister was elected from another party, after which the government released more than 20,000 prisoners arrested under the 2009 anti-terrorism law and deemed their detention to be politically motivated. The Anti-Terrorism Act 2020 repeals the Human Security Act 2007 and amends some of the provisions and definitions of terrorism. [42] Senator Panfilo Lacson, one of the main authors of the Anti-terrorism Act, 2020, said the Human Security Act, 2007 was a “dead letter law” because it was “heavily underutilized” because it resulted in only one convicted criminal and had only one prescribed organization, Abu Sayyaf. [43] WHEREAS the challenge of eradicating terrorism, with its sophisticated and cross-border nature, requires increased international cooperation and strengthening of Canada`s capacity to suppress, investigate and defeat terrorist activities; Lawyer Colmenares said protesters and anti-lockdown violators “feared” more power in the hands of police and President Duterte would “triple or quadruple” arrests. The National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) said the increase in red marking cases in the country confirmed the prevailing criticisms of the controversial legislation. [87] The Association of Superior Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), which brings together the heads of the country`s male and female religious orders, expressed opposition to the law, which they said could “violate human dignity and human rights.” [88] Various Filipino artists have also expressed disappointment and rejection of the signing of the law. [89] [90] Members of the Philippine art scene have also expressed opposition. [91] But Dr.
Rommel C. Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism,[92] defends the need for a new Philippine counterterrorism law, as terrorist threats in the Philippines have intensified even during the COVID-19 pandemic. [93] Nevertheless, Dr. Banlaoi encourages those who oppose the Anti-Terrorism Law to continue what they are doing to remain vigilant and ensure the protection of human rights during the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act. [Citation needed] In Turkey, where a 2013 law criminalized propaganda that would incite terrorism and a 2015 law allowed the arrest of terrorism suspects without a warrant for at least twenty-four hours, the picture is even bleaker. While the country had detained journalists and opposition members long before the 2013 and 2015 laws were passed, these provisions gave Turkey additional legal grounds to arrest and imprison dissidents. The law allows suspects to be detained without a warrant for 14 days and extended for an additional 10 days and monitored for 60 days, which can also be extended by the police or military for up to 30 days. [6] However, one analyst argues that this provision is essential for the fight against terrorism in order to “give investigators more time to obtain valuable information from the terrorism suspect. A longer period of detention may also allow sufficient time to facilitate interrogation. It can also prevent the suspected terrorist from wreaking havoc. More importantly, prolonged pre-trial detention can legally detain suspects if the usual criminal charges cannot be laid for technical reasons.
“[8] A new crime that incites terrorism is particularly problematic,” say human rights defenders. The text states that incitement to others by “speeches, writings, proclamations, emblems, banners and other representations that serve the same purpose” could result in a sentence of 12 years in prison. Most countries have anti-terrorism laws. The Philippines is no exception Like many world leaders before him, Duterte now has the tools to use the law as a weapon and systematically suppress dissent. Of course, there is always the possibility that the anti-terrorism law will not be misused to silence freedom of expression and undermine civil rights. After all, Indonesia passed a similar anti-terrorism law in 2018 and has yet to see mass arrests of opposition leaders, critics or journalists. “Under this broad definition, starting a fight in a bar could technically be classified as an act of terrorism,” human Rights Watch said, calling the law an “imminent human rights catastrophe.” Esperon says the Philippines` detention period is “one of the most limited” in the region, putting it on an equal footing with Australia and well below Singapore`s two-year warrantless detention period for terrorism suspects. After protests against the controversial anti-terrorism law, several cloned Facebook accounts were created on the platform. .