TID arrests 04 people for promoting extremism

Colombo (News 1st); The Terrorist Investigations Division arrested 02 people on Wednesday (31) for promoting the ideology of extremism online.

Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana speaking to News 1st said the suspects are a 31-year-old male from Wellampitiya and a 32-year-old male from Thihariya. "The suspects were employed in Qatar several years ago and while overseas they had created a WhatsApp group and promoted various extremist ideologies via the group," said the Police Spokesperson adding the group members were Sri Lankans.'The ideology of Zaharan Hashim and Wahhabism was also promoted via the group, said the Deputy Police Chief. Sri Lankan Authorities had informed their Qatari counterparts over the WhatsApp group and thereafter the two suspects were deported to Sri Lanka on the 21st of November 2020, he added. The Terrorist Investigations Division made the arrests on Wednesday (31) following investigations. One of the suspects was identified as the person who posted the first video of Zaharan's Bayyath or Bai'at oath online soon after the 2019 April 21st Attacks, said the Police Spokesperson. In addition, the suspect had circulated photos and videos of Wahhabism & Extremism online. The two suspects are detained by the Terrorist Investigations Division for investigations. Further, two more people were arrested by the TID in Muttur for facilitating the classes organized by Zaharan Hashim for students who completed the G. C. E. Ordinary Level examination in 2018. The two suspects will also be detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act at the Terrorist Investigations Division, said DIG Ajith Rohana