Shura Council members yesterday voted in favour of amendments to a law that would consider people sheltering terror fugitives as accomplices to the crimes they are found guilty of.
In an initial vote in May this year, the upper chamber of the National Assembly backed the amendments to the 2006 Anti-Terrorism Law which stipulated 15 years in prison for people sheltering suspected terrorists.
At the time, chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh decided to delay the final vote until after the five-month recess to allow a further review of the matter.
Shura members have omitted all exceptions made by MPs to have family members, or those unaware, excluded despite a request for humanitarian consideration from the ministries of Interior and Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments.
The bill presented by Parliament in 2019 has been revised from the original version presented by former Parliament chairman Ahmed Al Mulla which considered those who shelter terrorist fugitives as accomplices.
Discussions in Parliament over the original amendments ended in a stalemate in 2019, prompting Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal to withdraw it for revision.
Shura Council foreign affairs, defence and national security committee vice-chairman Yousif Al Ghatam said yesterday clemency should be decided by a judge, and not stated in law.
“What is the difference between family members or any other person sheltering a fugitive? MPs’ amendments would mean a terrorist could be hidden by any family member and they would be spared punishment.
“This comes with the possibility that the terrorist could use this to commit another terror crime.”
He claimed that family members could also be accomplices. “We could have a case in which one of them decides to carry full blame while the rest are spared punishment,” he added.
Meanwhile, Parliament foreign affairs, defence and national security committee chairman Mohammed Al Sissi remained adamant that the ruling appears harsh.
However, he added that Shura’s vote means a return to the original version with MPs now needing to review possible amendments once again. “We believe that it is unfair that people who hide fugitives, even knowingly, face the same punishments as the terrorists themselves,” said Mr Al Sissi.
“If the convicted terrorists get the death penalty, the same would apply to those giving them refuge, which is not justice in my opinion.”
Should both chambers insist on their respective stands, then the matter will be referred for a joint vote – something that has never happened since the bicameral system was introduced in 2002.
Separately, Shura voted in favour of amendments to the 2015 Commercial Registrations Law originally presented by its members. The five articles mention regulations and punishments related to violations, improper registration or misuse of final beneficiaries. The amendments will now be referred to MPs for a second review after rejecting the move in May.
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