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IndiaMakesIt Easier to Charge Citizens With Alleged Ties to IS

Nafisa Hoodbhoy

   Indian authorities are stepping up efforts to investigate and bring
   charges against Indian citizens allegedly linked to Islamic State (IS).
   This comes in the wake of the Easter bombings in April in neighboring
   Sri Lanka that killed 259 people and wounded hundreds, according to
   Indian officials.

   To achieve this, the Indian parliament amended laws giving the National
   Investigation Agency (NIA) expanded powers to prosecute individuals
   designated as "terrorists."

   Last week, India passed the NIA amendment bill in the parliament's
   Upper House, after resistance from opposition political parties in both
   houses of parliament.

   India Home Minister Amit Shah, from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party,
   said that passing the bill, "Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment
   Bill (UAPA)," had become necessary to keep law enforcement agencies
   "four steps ahead of terrorists."

   "It is important to designate individuals as terrorists as they start
   new organizations once an outfit is banned," Shah told the country's
   lawmakers, while making a case for the new law.

   Experts see the new amendment as paving the way for authorities to
   prosecute Indian citizens, arrested for links with the Sri Lankan
   bombers and other terrorism related charges.

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