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Tamil mother of political prisoner intimidated and threatened

A Tamil mother has submitted a complaint at the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission in Jaffna, after being bombarded with threatening calls for advocating the release of Tamil political prisoners.

Thevarasa Devarani, the mother of a Tamil political prisoner from East Kondavil, Jaffna has been continuously fighting for the release of Tamil political prisoners and has notably been in attendance at multiple demonstrations urging for the release of political prisoners where she has relentlessly voiced her demands.

She also submitted a complaint at Kopay police station yesterday, stating that she had been threatened over the phone multiple times, but the Kopay police station failed to address her case seriously.

Complaint submitted by Thevarasa Devarani at Kopay station

Earlier this week, Devarani attended a press conference in Jaffna where she called for the release for the detained Tamil political prisoners. Following her comments, an unidentified person contacted Devarani later that night and intimidated and scolded her with inappropriate words.

Multiple calls were made to Devarani by a string of unknown personnel, threatening her for support for the release of political prisoners. Shaken by the calls, the mother who lives alone, contacted ‘The Voice of the Voiceless’, an NGO advocating for Tamil political prisoners.

After this, the mother lodged a complaint at the Kopay police station yesterday. Devarani highlighted that she has been victim to threats and intimidating calls before for her support of political prisoners. Devarani is just one of many relatives of political prisoners subject to intimidation and threats, according to The Voice of the Voiceless.

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