Sri Lanka’s security forces have summoned a Trincomalee youth organiser, in what activists say is the latest act of intimidation targeting Tamil civil society.
Officials from the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) arrived at the office of Thalam on Wednesday and issued a summons ordering Dr C. Hayakirivan — also known as Karthi Hayan — to report to the TPIU in Trincomalee on 28 November 2025.
Dr Hayakirivan is a director of Thalam, a community-level organisation that has worked since 2018 on education, employment and skills development for youth in the Trincomalee region. Registered as a local organisation, Thalam has run programmes aimed at supporting self-reliance and improving opportunities for young people, and has been credited with positively shaping the lives of many of its participants.
Despite the organisation’s civilian and developmental focus, CTID officials have conducted several rounds of questioning this year, targeting Thalam's staff, volunteers and programme participants. The latest summons marks a significant escalation, with the director now ordered to appear before a terrorism investigation unit.
Dr Hayakirivan is also a journalist and long-standing social activist in the Eastern Province, and community members say the state’s actions are clearly intended to intimidate those working with Tamil youth and strengthening local civil society.
The summons comes amid a broader pattern of surveillance and harassment by the Sri Lankan state during the lead-up to Maaveerar Naal, with activists, journalists and organisers across the North-East reporting pressure from police, intelligence units and counter-terrorism divisions.