Human Rights Watch (HRW) have stated that Sri Lanka has continued to use the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to "target perceived opponents and minority communities without credible evidence" despite repeated promises to repeal the legislation and a moratorium on its use.
The PTA allows Sri Lankan authorities to detain individuals without charge and denies due process rights. The draconian legislation has been used for decades against Tamils and Muslims.
“Sri Lanka’s extensive domestic security apparatus routinely uses baseless accusations of terrorism to target innocent people, silencing critics and stigmatizing minority communities,” HRW'a deputy Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said.
“Previous international pressure has led to modest improvements, and Sri Lanka’s foreign partners should renew their call to repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act."
Sri Lanka have made multiple pledges to repeal the PTA and replace it with legislation that is line with international standards. However, the PTA continues to be used on the island.
Speaking to HRW, one activist from the North-East said:
“If we talk of Tamil rights, they use the PTA to silence us, saying we are working to reorganise the LTTE."
In 2023, Sri Lanka published a draft bill to replace the PTA, which has been condemned by civil society and rights groups as it still gives Sri Lanka's security forces sweeping powers to stop, question, search, and arrest anyone.
The rights group also noted that that draft bill is "designed to give the president, police, and military broad powers to detain people without evidence, to make vaguely defined forms of speech a criminal offense, and to arbitrarily ban gatherings and organizations without meaningful judicial oversight."
HRW provided the following recommendations:
- The government should impose a full moratorium on the PTA and work to repeal it.
- The authorities should draft rights-respecting counterterrorism legislation in consultation with experts and civil society.
- Foreign partners including the United States, EU, and UK should insist that Sri Lanka abides by commitments to repeal the law.
- The UN Human Rights Council should renew the mandates of resolution 46/1 for reporting and investigating human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
See the full statement here.
