Tamil rapper Sangeethsan Ganeskumar has been released on bail, after being arrested and remanded under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) over a music video that he had posted on social media.
Ganeskumar, better known by his stage name Hiphop Sangee, was arrested by Sri Lankan authorities on 2 June following an investigation into videos he uploaded after performing at a temple festival in the Chavakachcheri area of Jaffna. Sri Lankan authorities claimed he had been attempting to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through his music. He had initially been remanded until 17 June.
A petition seeking bail was filed at the Jaffna High Court, after which the Attorney General moved to proceed under Section 120 of the Penal Code rather than under the PTA. A subsequent bail application at the Chavakachcheri Magistrate's Court was rejected on the grounds that the relevant documentation was not before the court. A further application was then filed, and the court ordered Ganeskumar's release.
His lawyer had argued from the outset that the song at the centre of the case contained no direct reference to the LTTE, its symbols or its leader, and that the prosecution had no basis for invoking anti-terror legislation. Section 120 of the Penal Code, which concerns the comparatively lesser offence of exciting disaffection, carries none of the sweeping detention powers of the PTA, under which suspects can be held for extended periods without charge.
Ganeskumar's release follows weeks of sustained pressure. Protests were held across the Tamil homeland, in Kilinochchi, Valvettithurai, Vavuniya and Mannar, while Tamil parliamentarians raised his case in the legislature. President's Counsel M. A. Sumanthiran had announced a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court, and the case drew condemnation well beyond the island, with the mayor of Brampton, Kerala rapper Vedan, Canadian Tamil student organisations, Danish parliamentarians and Amnesty International all calling for his release.
While his release on bail has been welcomed, the case against Ganeskumar has not been withdrawn, and the investigation continues under the Penal Code.