Muslim human rights lawyer Hejaaz Jizbullah, who has been arbitrarily detained by the Sri Lankan state under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) since April 2020, missed out on the birth of his first child on Sunday morning.
A campaign group dedicated to the release of the prominent lawyer, Justice For Hejaaz, tweeted:
“Early this morning Hejaaz’s wife gave birth to their first child. Hejaaz still remains in detention without charge as he was for the past 7 months and missed the precious moment of welcoming his baby daughter into this world. How long do we have to wait for Justice?”
Hejaaz’s detention has raised serious concerns from various international human rights organisations. Earlier this month, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales criticised the case hearing being postponed from 28th October to February 2021 “due to the COVID-19 pandemic” and stressed the “clear risks of remaining in prison during the pandemic”.
