Efter adskillige angreb i Kenya i år fra somaliske islamister slår regeringen i Nairobi igen med hårde anti-terrorlove, der giver myndighederne udvidede beføjelser – anti-terrorloven har opbakning fra et flertal i parlamentet, men hudflettes af menneskerets-forkæmpere.
The opposition states, that the law will infringe (nedbryde) basic human rights. They and human rights groups have said they will stage protests if the bill is not amended (ændret /mildnet) to be less draconian, BBC online reports Friday.
Earlier this month, President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to take urgent action on security, replacing his interior minister and police chief following a massacre by Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabab.
The militants had killed 36 quarry (stenbruds) workers in Mandera, in north-east Kenya, near the Somali border. Non-Muslim workers were shot dead after being separated from Muslims.
There were calls on both sides of parliament for some of the bill’s most controversial elements to be amended. These included
* the right for the authorities to detain terror suspects for up to one year
* the handing of powers to the intelligence agencies to tap communications without court consent and
*the requirement for journalists to obtain police permission before investigating or publishing stories on domestic terrorism and security issues.
The bill will now be passed to a parliamentary committee for amendment, before being sent to President Kenyatta to be signed into law.
The committee is likely to make some amendments, given the cross-party support for this, BBC notes.
The other main elements of the proposed law include that people found with weapons in places of worship face punishment of 20 years in jail.
