Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

11 rights organisations urge Sri Lanka to release Hejaaz Hizbullah 'immediately and unconditionally'

Eleven international rights organisations have jointly called on the Sri Lankan government to "immediately and unconditionally" release prominent Muslim human rights lawyer, Hejaaz Hizbullah, from his arbitrary 15-month detention under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) legislation. 

Hizbullah was originally detained on 14 April 2020 for reportedly aiding and abetting one of the perpetrators of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings as well as engaging in activities deemed “detrimental to the religious harmony among communities." This allegation was later withdrawn and has since been replaced with several other accusations. 

In their statement, the rights organisations highlighted that "since the Sri Lankan authorities have so far been unable to show any evidence of wrongdoing, it appears he is being targeted solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression" and therefore, demanded the charges against him to be dropped.  

The statement further stresses that the Sri Lankan authorities have "repeatedly denied the right to due process safeguards recognised by international law", including the failure to inform Hizbullah the reason for his arrest and preventing access to bail. 

The PTA has been linked to cases of enforced disappearances, sexual violence and torture. Several Sri Lankan regimes have been criticised for the failure to repeal the PTA, despite widespread criticism from human rights defenders and international NGOs. Earlier this year, the Rajapaksa regime, expanded the powers of the PTA by adding a regulation that allows two years of detention without trial for causing “religious, racial, or communal disharmony.”

The  statement described the arbitrary and prolonged detentions under the PTA as a “flagrant violation of the right to liberty and the right to fair trial” and demanded that the widely condoned anti-terrorism statute be repealed. It also called on the state to provide access to effective remedies and reparations to those whose rights were infringed by the PTA.

We are deeply concerned by Sri Lanka’s continuing use of the PTA to enable arbitrary detention, despite commitments made to repeal the Act.

The Sri Lankan government should repeal the PTA and issue an immediate moratorium on its use. #JusticeForHejaaz #FreeHejaaz #SriLanka

— Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) July 28, 2021

Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution that calls for Sri Lanka to repeal its “abusive and draconian” Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and to immediately suspend the “deradicalization” regulation, at the risk of having its favourable trading preferences, under the GSP+ agreement, suspended at the periodic GSP+ review of Sri Lanka in November 2021.

Read full statement here.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.