Published 10:07 GMT

According to emerging reports from civil society activists in Jaffna, the Sri Lankan police have sent a list of 'wanted' students to the authorities at Jaffna University.

The list is reported to include 5 students from the medical faculty, and presidents of the Jaffna University Student Union, Science Union and Management Faculty.

The Sri Lankan government said that it will declare forests in the Northern and Eastern provinces as conservation areas, reported Colombo Page.

Noting the severe damage to forests in the North, the government announced that it planned to increase forest coverage. The proposed 2013 budget allocates funding to help expand the forests to cover at least 35% of the land.

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.