The Criminal Court has remanded a Maldivian family returning from the ongoing Syrian civil war for 30 days on Sunday.
The local family repatriated yesterday includes a 33-year-old Maldivian woman and four of her children, according to the Maldives Police Service.
During a court appearance, the woman said that the family was evacuated from the war-torn region to Turkey and then returned to the Maldives, and that she had no objections to the family’s detention.
The police said on Saturday that a Maldivian family who had been returned from a combat zone was being kept in administrative custody.
According to the police, the family was placed in administrative custody to fulfil the procedures outlined in the Anti-Terrorism Act for anyone returning to the Maldives from combat zones. This involves doing a risk assessment and determining if criminal charges should be filed against anyone.
Moreover, DNA tests were also done to confirm the nationality and parentage of the two children with the family. Regulation on the birth registration of children born to Maldivians in war zones came into force this January.
