PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Leader of Trinidad and Tobago’s Islamic Front Umar Abdullah is calling on the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to name the people whom Government has labelled as terrorists.

Al-Rawi, speaking on television here on Thursday night, said that within the last five months the number of “entities” listed as terrorist bodies in Trinidad and Tobago under local anti-terrorism laws had increased from 80 to 333. “If you want to prosecute in Trinidad and Tobago you have to cover all of those bases already.

So you have to list… Boko Haram…all of these entities as entities under our anti-terrorism laws. “The 333 entities listed include locals and we have about nine more on the table to come to court right now, which would be very specific listings. We’re working with our international partners on some very pinpointed local involvement and that will be coming before the courts quite shortly as well,” Al-Rawi said on CCN TV6 News.

He said part of the matters to go before the courts are based on the report of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) that from 2015-2017, at least 182 locals were suspected of involvement in financing terrorist activities.

“I will be bringing significant amendments to the anti-terrorism legislation very shortly to the Parliament as we continue to focus not only on legislative introduction but also operationalisation of laws,” he told television viewers. Last August, Al-Rawi said applications were filed in the High Court for terrorist entities being listed in Trinidad and Tobago based on the UN’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda Sanctions List, dated July 15, 2016.

But Abdullah, speaking on a radio programme here yesterday, said Al-Rawi must make known the names of people and entities linked to terrorism activities overseas and that he must also indicate what definition is used to classify someone as a terrorist. He has also urged Al-Rawi to meet with the various sects of Muslims here before making statements, adding that he would not stand idly by and allow Muslims to be victimised.

“I want the attorney general to sit with the Muslim community of Trinidad and Tobago and have a discussion with them,” he said, adding that the discussions should not just be with selected Muslim organisations.

“He needs to sit with the groups who have a knowledge, who have information about what he is talking about, about what he is attempting to talk about,” said Abdullah. “With (President Donald) Trump in power now in America I am certain stuff will be coming out of America and they will be trying to influence this country and this Government in targeting Muslims in this country.

“And no way I am going to stand up and allow that to happen. I am not going to allow it,” said Abdullah, who in 2015, said Trinidad and Tobago nationals who have joined the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), should be welcomed back into the country.

Meanwhile, Al-Rawi said Trinidad and Tobago was still awaiting word from Turkey as to whether or not eight nationals detained in that country on their way to join the ISIS terrorist group had been charged. “The requested information is really in a number of source destinations.

They include INTERPOL, SO15, which is the anti-terrorism unit of the United Kingdom and very importantly the authorities in Turkey.

“Our honorary consul in that country is in contact with them. We do not have representation beyond that level,” according to Foreign Affairs Minister Denis Moses.