Image by Amnesty International
Amnesty International have called on the Sri Lankan government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and to issue an immediate moratorium on its use amidst increasing scrutiny over the draconian legislation.
The rights group criticised Sri Lanka’s recent announcement to ‘reform’ the PTA, stating that the gazetted amendments “fail to address critical gaps in the law.”
“[...] the Government of Sri Lanka attempted to pacify both local and international calls for the repeal of the draconian PTA by making grossly inadequate amendments,” the organisation wrote.
“These amendments however still do not bring the legislation in line with international human rights law and standards and are thereby wholly insufficient.”
In their report, Amnesty International documented two cases of detention under the PTA.
Divaniya Mukunthan
Divaniya Mukunthan, 34, is a director of TubeTamil, a Tamil news Youtube channel. She has arrested in March 2021 for allegedly attempting to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Despite being in detention for more than 10 months, she is yet to be formally charged with an offence.
Following her detention, Divaniya’s family members reported that they have been visited at home five times by Sri Lankan police officers in civilian clothing, asking about Divaniya’s job and schooling.
Divaniya’s lawyer made a bail application which was taken up on January 13, 2022, but the Magistrate gave an order that he had no jurisdiction to grant bail under the PTA.
Mohamed Imaam Mohamed Imran
Mohamed Imaam Mohamed Imran, 23 is a computer engineering student, who was been in detention since May 9, 2019. Mohamed is still in detention although he has not been formally charged with a crime. Amnesty International called his detention “a flagrant violation of his rights to trial within a reasonable time, to be tried without undue delay.”
According to Mohamed’s family, he has been produced in court four times since his arrest. He was last produced in court in September 2021 but Sri Lanka’s courts keep extending his remand date every two weeks via video calls, citing coronavirus.
Amnesty International have called on the Sri Lankan authorities to immediately release Divaniya and Mohamed “or if there is any credible and admissible evidence of wrongdoing, promptly charge them with an internationally recognisable criminal offences and try them in court in accordance with international fair trial standards.”
Other recommendations made to Sri Lanka include reviewing the detention of those held under the PTA and release those that are not facing internationally recognisable charges as well as allowing access to reparations to those whose human rights have been violated under the PTA.
Read the full report here.
