A Promising Poet Silenced by the PTA
Ahnaf Jazeem is a 27 year old Muslim poet from the remote village of Chilawathurai in the Mannar District. Ahnaf was arrested on May 16, 2020 by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division…
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)
Commemorating Sri Lanka’s 2022 Protest Movement
“Come, join us in jail!” read the invitation to artist Sujith Rathnayake’s exhibition-cum-provocation, Crisis & Struggle. Indeed, a visitor to the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo was quickly confronted by a…
Rusted Metal, Bloodied Minds – Crisis and Struggle
When the GotaGoGama Protest site was attacked by supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9, a row of tents were destroyed and burned to the ground by the rowdy gang that descended…
Released at 71: the Story of Selvarathinam
The scorching heat beats down on the field. A herd of cows shelter under the trees that are scattered across the field. I went in search of Mr. Selvarathinam. His wife told…
Politics of Capitalist Transition and State Repression
Capitalist transition within a state is a process that involves changing institutions or the rules of the game so that markets become the primary mechanism for resource allocation. These changes must be…
Tortured Under the PTA, the Scars Will Never Heal
Pranavan (name changed), a former militant, was arrested in Vavuniya in April 2009 by people dressed in civilian clothes. Neither he nor his family were given prior warning of his arrest, which…
A Life Wrecked by an Unjust Law
In the decades of its use, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been condemned for being an unjust and arbitrary law. The suffering of those detained under the PTA and the…
The Urgent Need to Repeal a Law that Cannot be Reformed
It was supposed to be a temporary law to fight the perceived threat of a militant uprising but it has remained for over 40 years, enduring even after the enemy has been…
Widespread Condemnation for Detention of Protesters Under PTA
After a number of protestors were arrested in Colombo, three student activists have been detained under the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) despite expressions of concern from the international community. Amid…
Preventing or Promoting Terror? Regime’s Rough Ride at UN
The Sri Lankan government was never likely to find the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2022 a comfortable experience. In a discussion delayed because of the…
The Puzzling Case of Hejaaz Hizbullah
The gold balloon tubes spelling out the words “welcome back” still hang in the living room, swaying in the gentle breeze one month after he finally returned home, a stark reminder of…
The PTA and Defending the Human Rights of a Sovereign People
The onset of the bi-annual sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in which Sri Lanka features prominently on the agenda through UNHRC Resolution 46/1, contributes to several local activities.…
UN Report Increases Pressure on Government Amid Continuing Human Rights Violations
There has been some progress on aspects of human rights in Sri Lanka in the past year according to a key United Nations report but major failings remain and, on some matters,…
The Challenges of Challenging a Draft Bill in the Supreme Court
The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) has terrorised many Sri Lankans for over four decades. I have also been detained under the PTA, faced…
PTA: Repeal or Amend?
The former Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, emphasized that terrorism strikes at the very heart of everything the UN stood for and it was a global threat to democracy, the…
