^{Rajasekar with his lawyer KV Thavarasa}

A Tamil political prisoner who was held for 12 years under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was finally released after being acquitted of all charges yesterday.

Khandappu Rajasekar from Karaveddy in Jaffna had been arrested and detained by Sri Lankan officials on 19 October 2010. He had remained in Sri Lankan custody ever since.

After years of efforts, he was finally released on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to South Africa held a flurry of meetings with officials in the country this week, as Colombo sought to rally international support around its much-criticised human rights record and lack of accountability for mass atrocities ahead of the UN Human Rights Council session.

Following widespread criticism of Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by over 80 civil society and human rights organisations, the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has challenged the constitutionality of the bill in the Supreme Court.

“I was very naive in the beginning,” says Nasser Shaikh. He travelled to Sri Lanka and met with senior government officials after his brother had been brutally murdered. He had hoped for answers and the real truth.    

“I guess they told me everything, I needed to hear.”

Nasser spoke to the Tamil Guardian about his struggle to seek justice that spanned from his hometown of Manchester to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran has launched a petition campaign calling for the repeal of Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The campaign will be inaugurated tomorrow morning in front of the Fort Railway Station in Colombo.

In his statement, Sumanthiran noted that the act was introduced in 1979 as a temporary provision but has continued for over 40 years.

Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves have fallen over 24% to USD $2.36 billion by the end of January from USD $3.14 billion at the end of December 2021, despite currency swaps and debt deferments from India and China. 

As the 2022 Indian Premier League auction came to a close this week, controversy erupted after reigning champions Chennai Super Kings purchased Sri Lankan army cricketer Maheesh Theekshana to join the Tamil Nadu-based franchise.

The hashtags #Boycott_ChennaiSuperKings and #DontNormaliseTamilGenocide began being shared on social media platforms as new spread of the Sri Lankan Army Corporal joining the team.

The British government has confirmed that at least 89 Eelam Tamils, including 20 children, are amongst those being held at the US Naval base on the occupied island of Diego Garcia, with questions still to be answered on where they may be transferred to next.

Tamils in Kokkilai rallied through the streets on Saturday, as they demonstrated against attempts by a state-owned mineral company to appropriate land for the construction of an ilmenite mine.

Staff at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital said that damage found to a brand new C-arm scanner at the hospital may have been deliberate sabotage, after the machine was found broken just days after being repaired.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, this is the second time in recent months that the Rs 15 million machine has been found damaged. In a previous incident a crucial part needed for the machine to function was stolen and never located.

Sri Lankan police are now reportedly carrying out enquiries at the hospital.