Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Sri Lanka's arrest of Muslim lawyer slammed as ‘illegal and arbitrary’

The family of a prominent Muslim lawyer have denounced his arrest as “illegal and arbitrary,” stating it was acarried out by Sri Lankan authorities “with the intention of stifling dissent” after he was  arrested over the alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings a year ago.

Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on Tuesday, alongside six other people.

“Information has come to light that the lawyer had associated himself with the bombers,” said Sri Lankan police spokesman Jaliya Senaratne. “In addition, it has been reported that he had been involved with the bombers as an office bearer in an organisation. Furthermore, certain affiliations with the planning of the bombing.”

The lawyer’s family has since denounced the arrest as illegal and arbitrary.

“We have been informed that the arrest is based on certain functions attended to by Mr. Hisbullah in his professional capacity as a member of the Bar,” said the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), who added,

“We would be extremely grateful if you could direct the investigating officers to ensure;

a. That the professional rights of Mr. Hisbullah is given due consideration,

b. That the BASL is informed of the reasons and the basis of his arrest.”

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.