Kenya: Controversial Anti-Terror Law to Be Republished

The Kenyan Government has announced that it will revise and republish a controversial anti-terror law. The draft Suppression of Terrorism Bill, originally introduced before the National Assembly in 2003 and said to be based on a model law disseminated by the Commonwealth Secretariat, was formally withdrawn in February 2004 following widespread criticism within Kenya. Human rights groups said the original law restricted freedom of assembly, expression and association, provided for indefinite detention and would have led to impunity for security forces engaged in anti-terrorist activities and the confiscation of property without redress. The Bill was also criticized for criminalising the offer off any services, including legal services, to suspected terrorists.