PTA

(Ambassador Keshap, Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran and Minister of National Coexistence, Dialogue & Official Languages Mano Ganesan on the way to Jaffna aboard U.S. Air Force plane C130) Ambassador Atul Keshap’s Remarks at the Reception Held in Jetwing Hotel, Jaffna. Thank you so much for joining us on this beautiful rooftop […]

The Human Rights Commission welcomes the Directives issued by His Excellenry President Maithripala Sirisena on the arrest and detention of persons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act No 48 of L979 (PTA) and a state of emergency when in force. The Directives would facilitate the Commission exercise its powers, functions and duties in this regard […]

Centre for Human Rights and Research (CHR) Sri Lanka has unveiled its comprehensive report on the Prevention of Terrorism act (PTA) ‘What is happening with the detainees now? The forgotten political prisoners under the Yahapalanaya. In the report CHR puts the PTA in context of Sri Lankan history, analyzes the draconian anature of the law, […]

Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has issued detectives for arresting and detaining persons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The directives are based on directives issued by previous heads of state and binding international human rights law standards. If implemented properly these directives are bound to improve the human rights in Sri Lanka and police […]

Seven army personnel, three naval ratings arrested under PTA. Seven army personnel and three naval ratings had been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act since Janauary 14, this year, parliament was told yesterday. A document tabled by Law and Order and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayake said that four […]

( Protest in Jaffna; Image Tamil Guardian) T. Ramakrishnan. The TNA leader also urged the government not to let itself dictated by “slogans” from certain “parochial” sections. Sri Lanka’s leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan on Tuesday slammed the government over continuing detention of people booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) even after it […]

by Easwaran Rutnam. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged the government to review all cases of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) Moves to repeal draconian anti-terrorism laws are gathering pace as Sri Lanka prepares to provide an update to the UN Human Rights Council on the […]

Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has called for the immediate release of those held in detention or remand for a long period of time without charges and against whom there is no credible evidence under PTA. The Commission has further called upon the Attorney General to review the cases of those indicted and to […]

(A campaign against PTA held in Colombo) A group of Tamil prisoners taken into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) started a fast last week demanding their release. Most of them have been in prison for over six years and many have not even being charged in courts. Throughout this whole period the […]

“Even locally, most of the people are not happy with the Commission and they have no faith in its process. However, we will not abandon its procedure” The government is to abolish the Missing Persons Commission and replace it with a new commission or system to continue procedures of the former. Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe […]

By Watchdog- Background. Ms. JeyaGanesh Pakeerathy was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers unit for around four years (exact years unknown). She was heavily injured and was discontinued in 2000. After receiving intensive treatment at home, she recovered. However, even today she is unable to do heavy work. In […]

[ A campaign against PTA- file photo] Residents in Vavuniya called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the release of political prisoners and accountability and justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity, stating that until these issues were resolved, Sri Lanka’s Independence Day on February 4, would be a black day […]

[Citizens Power in Colombo 12.12.2014; Vikalpa photo] Report: SRI LANKA: THE FUTURE IS NOW– 12 December 2014 INTRODUCTION As the people of Sri Lanka prepare for the presidential election in January 2015, Amnesty International calls on the presidential candidates to commit publicly to ensuring that human rights are protected, respected and fulfilled in accordance with […]

[File Photo:REUTERS] By a Tamil Intellectual- Abolish of Executive Presidency, Repeal the PTA and Return to Normalcy Firstly, It is necessary to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). PTA affects democracy in broader sense. Interestingly in the present political discourse, TNA has taken the position that they demand the repeal of PTA. We all […]

Civil society members and politicians came together at a campaign in Colombo, seeking the release of Balendran Jeyakumari, who was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) in March this year. They demanded that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) — under which Ms. Jeyakumari was detained — be repealed immediately. It has been […]

The Tamil student, who was arrested last Tuesday by the SL Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), has been released as protests by Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students of the Sabaragamuwa University gained momentum on Friday. However, another Tamil student of the same university has been arrested and subjected to interrogation at the notorious 4th Floor in […]

TID probing disappearances a coincidence Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said several people from the North and the Tamil media have claimed that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had been holding inquiries into missing persons at the same time as the Presidential Commission to Investigate Disappearances was sitting in Mullaitivu last week. This was a […]

Upul Jasuriya Key Note Address of the World Press Freedom Day Event organised  by SLPI and FMM  Upul Jasuriya, President Bar Association of Sri Lanka “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any […]

Chandrapala Kumarage, Attorney-at-Law The PTA law is being applied arbitrarily, and even offences that could be dealt with under the normal laws are being dealt with under the PTA. This is at a time when the Emergency Laws have already been revoked. Since the PTA law is being wrongly used in this way, it is […]

 Jayakumari Balendran and her daughter In 2009 the government announced that the LTTE has been wiped out from the country with the end of the armed conflict. However, in the past few weeks there have been a number of arrests, including of women under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) supposedly to investigate and counter […]

Ruki ”Merely tagging on an accusation of some connection to the LTTE without sufficient evidence in order to create the impression of some illegal activity is not becoming of a legitimate government. Unfortunately the long period of violence that prevailed in the country for several decades left room for such arrests without the strict criterion […]

Fr. Praveen and Ruli Lanka e News is has been informed by our legal sources on a unbelievable a court order imposed on Ruki Fernando and Fr. Praveen Mahesan , who were arrested by TID and released without any charges after two days of questioning. According to this court order both of them are not […]

We reprodse an news item form state controlled Daily news which is full of lies. Ruki Fernando and Fr, Praveen have never been prominent activists of the National Peace Council (NPC) – SLB NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL TIGER LINKS BARED –  Prominent NPC activists in TID custody -Close contacts with LTTE faction trying to revive Eelam […]

”The Observatory condemns the arrest and judicial harassment of Mr. Ruki Fernando, Rev. Praveen Omi and Ms. Balendran Jeyakumari, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning their peaceful human rights activities, and calls upon the authorities of Sri Lanka to release them immediately and unconditionally. ” URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY LKA 001 / 0314 […]

Fr. Praveen The United States has called on the Government to ensure the due legal process is provided to human rights activists Ruki Fernando and Reverend Father Praveen after they were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) last night. The US Embassy in Colombo said that the US Government is concerned over the […]

Jayakumari and her daughter ( C 4 )  Callum Macrae Last November, when Jon Snow accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron to the former war zones in the north of Sri Lanka, he was mobbed by crowds of desperate mothers pleading for his help – for any help – in the desperate search for their missing […]

4 By Easwaran RutnamThe government last week refused to budge on its stand over various issues during several meetings held with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.Pillay had called for the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to be abolished, disappearances to be investigated, and for accountability on some of the allegations over […]

FOCUS As lights are dimmed over Sri Lanka following prohibitively crushing electricity hikes, the enveloping darkness is menacingly symbolic of the crisis which our society is facing. This is even as the politically privileged siphon off massive amounts of money for useless extravaganzas, including an airport in the deep South to which overseas airlines are […]

 Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka  “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” ‘The Second Coming’, WB Yeats (1919)Must the Sri Lankan citizenry accept or acquiesce in the sacrifice, even in peacetime, of due process and civil liberties at the altar of an absolutist model of security? The state, or […]

In a damning revelation, powerful Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has stated Muslim politician Azath Salley was arrested as he conspired to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims for an armed struggle along with a Tamil group in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to our sister paper, Rajapaksa said intelligence agencies have uncovered evidence against Salley, who had been held […]