COLOMBO : Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) has expressed its concerns on the arrest and detention of protesters under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 22, Retired Justice Rohini Marasinghe, Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has said :” It has been brought to the notice of the HRCSL that the recent iteration of the PTA has been grossly manipulated to exert tyranny through undemocratic methods and justify the wrongful arrest of protesters.
The Commission is deeply concerned about the resurrection of the PTA by the police on suspects who do not fall within the definition of the Act. And informs IGP to inform the facts and circumstances under which these suspects have been dealt with under the PTA.
The Commission must be duly informed of the endangerment of the public order by elements of groups of persons such as those arrested who advocate the use of for…
The HRC is entitled to know what measures have been taken to protect the fundamental rights of the persons arrested.
The Commission seeks to know from the IGP whether the Commission has been duly informed of all suspects arrested under the PTA so far. And the places of detention of all these suspects.
The Commission firmly informs that no suspect exercising their fundamental rights under the Constitution should be wrongly treated as a terrorist. The IGP must be equipped with all the necessary and reasonable evidence that these persons are responsible for any act of violence committed as terrorists under the PTA. The offences enumerated in section 2 of the PTA should be viewed as those committed by suspects who could be identified as terrorists.
The reports received by the Commission so far only reiterate that these persons now arrested and detained by the Police under PTA were merely exercising their fundamental rights of protest. Suppose the police allege these suspects have gone beyond that right and caused trespass and damage to government property. In that case, it must be informed to the IGP that such suspects do not get transformed from a protestor to terrorists merely because they have caused violations of the Law enumerated in the Penal Code.
The offences enumerated in the PTA are severe. Therefore, severe methods are prescribed in the Act to deal with such persons. These protestors have been on the streets since April 2022. The sudden decision by the police to arrest and detain these suspects now under the PTA is questionable and may be made known to the HRC immediately. If there is no such reasonable information to hold such suspects under the PTA, they may be produced before a judge immediately.”
