Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has told ITAK parliamentarian S. Shritharan that no detention order has been issued against detained Tamil rapper Ganeshkumar Sangeethsan under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as he continues to be held in prison.
Shritharan said he held a telephone discussion with Dissanayake regarding the release of the Kilinochchi-born artist, also known as Hip Hop Sangee, who was arrested earlier this month over songs he performed and shared online.
According to Shritharan, Dissanayake informed him that because no PTA detention order had been issued against Sangeethsan, the artist’s lawyers could seek bail through the ordinary judicial process.
The case has triggered protests across the Tamil homeland and renewed criticism of Sri Lanka’s continued use of anti-terror legislation against Tamil cultural and artistic expression.
Following the telephone discussion, Shritharan said a meeting was held inside the Parliamentary complex between himself and Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, in accordance with instructions issued by Dissanayake.
During the meeting, Chandrasekar reportedly reiterated the Sri Lankan president’s position regarding Sangeethsan’s case and the possibility of seeking bail through court.
Shritharan’s statement further noted that Chandrasekar also contacted Sangeethsan’s mother by telephone and spoke with her regarding the matter.
The details were disclosed by Shritharan in a statement published on his Facebook page on 10 June. Neither Dissanayake nor Chandrasekar has publicly issued further details on the discussions.
The latest intervention follows an earlier letter from Shritharan to Dissanayake, in which the ITAK MP called for the rapper’s release and said the arrest had caused "deep disappointment and pain" among Tamils.
In that letter, Shritharan argued that Sangeethsan had used music to express the historical suffering, losses and emotions of his people, and said many Tamils viewed the detention as another example of the restrictions they face in exercising freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.
Shritharan also pointed to what he described as inconsistencies in the application of the law, noting that representatives of the current National People’s Power administration had previously sought electoral support in settings where references to the Tamil armed struggle, commemorations and related songs were present.
"It is an undeniable historical fact that, during previous parliamentary elections, representatives of the current National People's Power (NPP) sought the support of voters in settings where songs, commemorations, political symbols, and other references associated with the Tamil armed struggle were visible.”
Sangeethsan was arrested after Sri Lankan authorities alleged that material he uploaded to social media promoted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was subsequently produced before court and remanded while investigations continue.
His detention has drawn widespread criticism from Tamil political representatives, lawyers, artists, civil society organisations and international human rights groups.
Protests demanding his release have also been held in Kilinochchi, Valvettithurai and Vavuniya, where demonstrators condemned the use of anti-terror legislation against artistic expression and called for the repeal of the PTA. Amnesty International has also called for his release.