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The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, condoned the “vague” terrorism charges under which Sri Lankan Muslim human rights lawyer, Hejaaz Hizbullah, has been arbitrarily detained under.
HIzbuallah is a renowned advocate in the field of human rights and has carried out a number of lawsuits against the Sri Lankan government. He was arrested under the draconian ‘Prevention of Terrorism Act’ (PTA) on 26th August 2021 in which he was accused of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks. He has been detained for over 17 months, with severely restricted access to lawyers and no evidence having been produced before the courts connecting him to any terrorist activities.
Read more about Hizbullah’s detention here.
Lawlor mentioned that the PTA charges against Hizbuallah are being used to hinder him from carrying out his human rights work. She expressed deep concerns that his profession “may have been conflated with terrorism” and added “we find this particularly concerning in light of the changing focus of the investigation.” Lawlor also highlighted the “allegations that minors and clerics have been pressured to give false statements” in her statement.
Numerous rights organisations have spoken out against Hizbullah’s continued detention with Amnesty International declaring on 14 July 2021, that he was a “prisoner of conscience”. Last month, over 70 personnel and organisations, including prominent religious leaders and human rights advocates in Sri Lanka, demanded the immediate release of Hizbullah.
Read more here.
