A group of Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka have written to the British minister for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad, urging the UK to impose Magnitsky sanctions on alleged Sri Lankan war criminals and pursue prosecutions under universal jurisdiction.

“We look to the UK, as the penholder for the Geneva process, to do more to vet and screen Sri Lankan officials it engages with, to apply Magnitsky Sanctions to Sri Lankan alleged war criminals, to exercise universal jurisdiction over alleged perpetrators and to speak out about ongoing grave violations of human rights that drive so many of our people to flee their homes and seek refuge abroad” the joint letter read. The letter follows Lord Ahmad's 3-day tour of Sri Lanka in January.

Read more here: Trade, climate and human rights – Britain’s South Asia Minister tours Tamil homeland

White van abductions

The letter detailed attacks on the home of journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama and an attempt to kidnap ITAK youth wing Assistant Secretary, Nithanshan by unknown men travelling in white vans.

A recent Amnesty International report similar highlights the return of ‘white van’ style abductions, a tactic that had previously caused thousands of enforced disappearances from 1983-2009. These attacks have escalated since the appointment of Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the presidency. Rajapaksa stands accused of overseeing white van abductions and disappearances of journalists.

The letter notes that the cases of Nithanshan and Samarawickrama are “just the tip of the iceberg” and request a meeting to discuss this in further detail.

Extrajudicial killing

The signatories further highlight two cases in which men were detained by Sri Lankan police only to be reported dead the following morning. Citing Sri Lanka’s Bar Association, they note that deaths within police custody have “all the hallmarks of extrajudicial killings”.

This stands alongside repeated reports of torture, including the case of Mishara Ranasinghe who was reportedly stripped naked by Senior DIG officer, Ranmal Kodituwakku, assaulted and sexually tortured. Lawyers defending Ranasinghe detailed injuries to the victim’s neck, stomach and genitals suffered at Kiriella police station.

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has documented 178 credible cases of torture from 2015-2018, excluding 22 individuals abroad who reported torture following the UN special investigation. A further report detailed the testimonies of 15 Tamils who were abducted and tortured since Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed the office of the President in 2019.

Whilst the signatories welcome Police Scotland to end its training contract with Sri Lanka, they raise concerns over its possible resumption. Speaking in parliament, Vicky Ford, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office maintained that Britain would continue to support Sri Lanka through its Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. In October 2019 it was revealed that of the £10.75 million allocated to Sri Lanka, funding would be distributed to six areas: “peacebuilding, de-mining, policing, defence, corruption and cross-party reconciliation”.

Read more here: Sanctions on Shavendra Silva – Why does Britain remain silent?

The letter further notes that several of the cases they document “were brought out by Sri Lankan journalists outside the country – indicating that sources outside the country are often able to report human rights violations because they have more space to operate in safety than we who are in the country and who live-in fear”.

Harassment of journalists

The letter further details the continued harassment of Tamil journalists noting that last year, Tamil journalist Sasikaran was repeatedly pressured by the Batticaloa police special crime branch to reveal his sources.

Journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan was also questioned by members of the Batticaloa terrorism investigation division last July and pressured to hand over the passwords that would give them access to his messaging services and bank accounts.

Sri Lanka which is currently ranked 127th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom Index, has seen an alarming increase in attacks and harassment against journalists, particularly in the North-East for reporting on issues affecting Tamils in the homeland.

The letter further “ongoing unlawful arrests, abductions, illegal detentions by the security forces of Tamils, including astonishingly the first one listed below which occurred while an EU human rights’ investigation team was in the country”.

Within the cases they list are individuals who attended the peaceful Pottuvil to Polikandy (P2P) march and one individual who had a photo of  the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on his smartphone.

“Victims tend to be young men from the north and east who had no connection with the LTTE – indeed they were children during the war”.

Harassment of former cadre

They raise concerns that continued harassment and arrest of former LTTE cadre is to further a narrative of a supposed resurgence and used to fear monger against Tamils as well as justify the continued militarisation of the north and east.

Harassment of parliamentarians

They also note that several elected Tamil officials have been subject to interrogations, arbitrary arrests and intimidation for their political activism.

- In December 2021, Secretary of former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Sivasakthi Anandan was questioned by TID over a protest held by Tamil families of the disappeared.

- In September 2021 MP Selvarajah Kajendran was arrested for remembering Thileepan who died campaigning for Tamils.

- In May 2021 the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Division visited the house of Batticaloa District Civil Society Forum's president S. Sivayoganathan & interrogated him for over an hour about his involvement in organising P2P protest march in February.

- In April 2021, the Jaffna Mayor was arrested and accused of prompting LTTE ideology.

- In February 2021, MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam was interrogated by six Police officials on the P2P protest (held from Pottuvil to Polikandy)

-  In July 2020, the former Chief Minister, Justice C V Wigneswaren MP was called for questioning by the CID.

The letter was signed by Mavai S Senathirajah, President of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK); Suresh Premachandran Leader & Secretary-General of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Force (EPRLF); and, Thavaraja Kalai Arasan, member of ITAK.

Read the full letter here.