The political détente between the Al Khalifa family and the disparate forces of civil society unraveled just two years later. The role of the National Assembly was short-lived, and convened for only two sessions before it was forcibly dissolved by the Amir in 1975 for refusing to ratify the Decree Law on State Security Measures (State Security Law), which allowed the arrest and detention of up to three years without trial of anyone suspected of posing a threat through undefined “acts” or “statements” to Bahrain's internal or external security. When asked why the National Assembly had been disbanded, Minister of Information Muhammad Ibrahim al-Mutawa’a replied that “it hindered the government” and that it would be restored “once we feel that we need it, when it is suitable for our society and development.”