Amnesty International has called for “urgent action” to release four students taken into police custody by Sri Lanka, as reports of more arrests emerged earlier on Thursday.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the human rights group stated that,

“There are concerns for their well-being given evidence of the persistent use of torture in TID custody”

As many as 25 people have been arrested for "terrorism" in the Jaffna peninsula and transferred to Vavuniya, reported the BBC.

Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody told the BBC that 10 people were detained on Wednesday, but more are thought to have been arrested since. Jayakody said,

Published 12:02 GMT

At least another 7 young Tamils were arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Department in Jaffna on Tuesday afternoon, reported the Uthayan newspaper, citing officials at the Human Rights Commission.

According to the paper, whilst 7 complaints were lodged by families of the arrested, the actual figure of arrests could be as high as ten. Uthayan went on to report that 5 Tamils were arrested by police in Koppay and 2 by police in Chavahavcheri under the PTA legislation, and remanded in custody before being moved to Colombo for questioning by the TID.

All seven Tamils are reported to be originally from the Vanni.

The European Union’s delegation in Sri Lanka has expressed concern over recent incidents concerning the rule of law and individual freedoms on the island.

In a statement, the EU said it looks towards Sri Lanka to ensure “that all citizens, including students, journalists and opposition politicians, are able to exercise their fundamental rights without impediment.”

See full statement below.

The Bishop of Mannar has written to Australian authorities calling on them to halt deportations of people from the North-East of Sri Lanka, stating it was “highly dangerous” for them to return.

Revealing the fate of those who have been returned to the island following deportation, Bishop Rayappu Joseph stated that they were considered “traitors by the Government and its armed forces” and forced to become “informants”.

In a letter dated 3rd of December, the Bishop Rayappu Joseph went on to say that those who are forced to return from Australia are subjected to “restrictions, threats, intimidation, questionings, surveillance and other forms of harassments and discrimination by the military, police and intelligence officers”.

His letter comes as more than 50 Australian asylum seekers filed an injunction against their scheduled removal from Australia, claiming that the Australian government has ignored their pleas that they face persecution upon return to the island.

See the full text of the letter reproduced below.

Published 10:58 GMT

Protesters have gathered since the morning by the Jaffna main bus stand, condemning the arrest and intimidation of Jaffna University students by the Sri Lankan military and police.

Organised by the students and the Tamil National People's Front, the protest has been supported by a wide range of political figures, such as TNA MPs as well as civil society activists.

Photograph Uthayan

Photographs Uthayan

Tamil students at Eastern University protested against the arrest of students at Jaffna university on Monday, condemning the military's presence at a civilian institution of education.

The protest by students in Eastern University, took place amidst the watchful eye of not only the Sri Lankan security forces, but several notorious paramilitary groups.

Demanding the immediate release of all four arrest students, students at the Eastern University said they stood by the side of their brothers and sisters in Jaffna.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has congratulated Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on his country’s successful bid to become a non-member observer state at the United Nations.

Rajapakse wrote in a letter that the people of Sri Lanka have “steadfastly stood with the Palestinian people in their decades long struggle for justice”.

“It is with great pleasure that I extend my heartiest congratulations and sincere best wishes to Your Excellency and the people of Palestine on behalf of the government and people of Sri Lanka on this happy occasion of the adoption of the historic resolution on the enhancement of the status of Palestine in the United Nations General Assembly,” said the letter.

A group of 56 asylum seekers who were due to be deported from Australia have applied for an injunction halting their deportation, stating the Australian government has ignored pleas that they face persecution upon their return.

Whilst the injunction has not been granted, the asylum seekers will see their case return to court on Thursday. 

Ian Rintoul, a campaigner with the Refugee Action Coalition slammed the Australian screening process for asylum seekers as  "entirely unaccountable, non-transparent, non reviewable", stating,

"We don't know the criteria on which these decisions are made; but they are clearly life and death decisions,"