The Cabinet on Monday approved in principle the draft of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2011 after making some changes for prevention of financial transactions by terrorists through banks or any other financial institutions and non-government organizations.
It also endorsed the draft of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Bill 2011,
incorporating a provision for death penalty as maximum punishment for traffickers.
The home affairs ministry placed both the proposals in the weekly Cabinet meeting at the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
'The Cabinet has approved in principle the proposed changes to the anti-terrorism law enacted in 2009 since terrorism has now expanded across the world. It is not the problem of a single country any more,' the prime minister's press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, told reporters after the meeting.
He said that the law was enacted in 2009 to prevent criminal offences like killing, possession of firearms and explosive substances, damaging properties and jeopardizing the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The prime minister told the meeting that the terrorists would not be allowed to use even a square inch of the country's land, the press secretary told reporters.
He said the term 'firearms' would be replaced with 'arms' in the amended law.
'Any transactions through banks or any other financial institutions or hundi for terror financing will now come under the coverage of the anti-terrorism law. The law covered only bank transactions before the chnges,' the home affairs secretary, Abdus Sobhan Sikdar, told New Age.
He said that there were no clear-cut directives in the law on tackling the financial transactions found to have links with terrorism. 'Now the court or any of the government agencies concerned will have the jurisdiction to issue directives in this regard,' said the secretary.
The draft suggests empowering the Bangladesh Bank's financial investigation unit to check terror financing through any financial institutions, he said.
Referring to the draft of the human trafficking prevention law, the home affairs secretary said it would be a new law. 'The existing law covers prevention of the trafficking of women and children only. Now the term trafficking has been redefined, covering all human beings a whole,' he added.
The draft Bill proposes a blanket law, incorporating tough action against human trafficking in general, and women and children trafficking, and irregular migration, in particular.
The Bill stipulates a minimum of eight years of rigorous imprisonment, with fine, for those convicted of human trafficking. 'If found guilty, one can be awarded life imprisonment with a fine of Tk 5 lakh or be awarded the death penalty as the highest punishment,' said Azad.
The draft suggests setting up of the National Human Trafficking Prevention Authority to pursue human trafficking cases and take suitable action to combat the crime.
Human trafficking and related crimes will be non-bailable and non-compoundable offences under the proposed law.
'Human trafficking shall mean the selling or buying, recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, or of the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person, having control over another person, for the purpose of sexual, commercial, or other form of exploitation, whether in or outside Bangladesh,' according to the draft of the new law.
Source : New Age
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