After 18 months of detention under Sri Lanka's draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, Muslim poet Ahnaf Jazeem, was brought before the High Court in Puttalam on Monday.
Jazeem was initially detained in May 2020 by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Department for allegedly “promoting extremism and violence” to children. His arrest was largely based on an unofficial translation of one of Jazeem’s poems, called Navarasam. Tamil literature experts and scholars noted a lack of incendiary language and therefore baseless detention of Jazeem.
The poet has been held under arrest for over 480 days under the PTA without charges. It was only in May 2021 that Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered prison authorities to permit lawyers access to the poet.
Numerous human rights organisations including Freedom Now, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have spoken out against his detention.
Lawyers have argued that his arrest violates his right to freedom of expression and is a direct violation of his rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Ahnaf’s poetry should be celebrated, not condemned. His wrongful detention is indicative of Sri Lanka’s blatant misuse of anti-terrorism laws to criminalize peaceful expression. We are confident that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will conclude his fundamental human rights have been violated and he should be released immediately" wrote Freedom Now Legal Officer, Adam Lhedmat.
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