Ben Emmerson, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, met with Tamil political prisoners detained under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in Vavuniya today, as he embarked on an official visit of the island.
Mr Emmerson’s visit comes as Tamil prisoners remain detained under the PTA, despite repeated calls for their release.
The Sri Lankan government has also stalled on repealing the PTA, a piece of legislation that has been roundly criticised by human rights organisations as “draconian” for decades.
The Sri Lankan government committed itself to repealing, reviewing and replacing the PTA with “anti-terrorism legislation in line with contemporary international best practices” in a UN Human Rights Council in 2015. However, a replacement Counter Terrorism Act raised concerns about serious restrictions to fundamental rights and was widely criticised.
In recent weeks, Sri Lanka’s Sinhala Buddhist monks have called on the Sri Lankan government not to abolish the PTA.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
