On July 14, 2017 the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson released a statement at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka, where he met with detainees, activists,…
By Marisa de Silva, Swasthika Arulingam and Ruki Fernando for WATCHDOG On 30th March, 2016, a suicide jacket, explosives and other ammunition was found in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna. Since then, as at 28th…
June 26 marks the International Day in support of Victims of Torture. Several recent reports have flagged that torture is a frequent and ongoing phenomenon among the police and military, even today,…
New evidence has emerged that Sri Lanka’s security forces have perpetrated acts of torture and sexual violence against ethnic Tamils as recently as last year, according to a UK-based rights group. In…
Image from The Anti-Torture Initiative There is an alarming trend in the Sri Lankan security forces operation, of arresting the family members of suspects and keeping them as hostages in detention camps….
has covered in detail the Executive Summary and Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the leaks. published today Part 5, which focusses on the conditions faced by IDPs in the aftermath of the violent denouement…
Torture is one of the most serious abuses of human rights. Generally torture is referred to as ‘any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted…
The Rajagiriya police arrested Sathsara Nimesh and publicly humiliated him by removing his trousers. At Sabaragamuwa University, seniors tortured Charith Dilshan to death for wearing shorts. Dilshi Amshika, who was sexually abused…
Since the end of the 26 year armed conflict in May 2009, whether it should be celebrated as a victory or allowed to be mourned by the war victims has been a…
How do we end ragging at our universities? It is a question that never goes away and one that re-appears every time a student is killed. Charith Dilshan took his own life,…
For 25 long years the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, better known as…
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his NPP government have inherited a daunting list of human rights problems to address. In his election manifesto, President Dissanayake pledged to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism…
For more than two decades, the Batalanda Commission report has languished in the archives of our nation’s history, ignored and forgotten by those who should have cared most [1]. But recent events,…
As part of the Kolamba Kamatha Festival, Stages Theatre Group presented , two powerful plays of remembering, witnessing and refusing to look away. In , playwright Ruwanthi De Chickera distills the complexity…
Last year, I studied in some depth perceptions of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and the National People’s Power (NPP) after the consequential presidential election and again after the even more significant…
