Gajan Ponnambalam, leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), has condemned the arrest of Rishad Bathiudeen, Sri Lanka’s former Industry Minister and leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party (ACMC), under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called on Sri Lanka to reject a proposed resolution that seeks to stop trials against military and high-ranking government officials accused of war crimes and corruption.

“Parliament should categorically reject this ‘impunity resolution’ that interferes with the ongoing work of the judiciary and the Attorney General’s office in their efforts to provide for at least a modicum of accountability for serious violations,” said Ian Seiderman, ICJ’s Legal and Policy Director.

Former Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has urged the new Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, to release a Tamil asylum-seeking family from immigration detention on Christmas Island, during a Q&A session on ABC. 

Turnbull was the prime minister when Priya and Nades Murugappan, who moved to Australia with separate asylum claims in 2012 and 2013, were first detained alongside their daughters Kopica and Tharnicca after their four-year bridging visa expired in March 2018. 

A tree planting ceremony was held in Vavuniya last week in tribute to legendary Tamil actor and comedian Vivek.

Three Tamil men were arrested in Mannar last Sunday over the alleged possession of cannabis worth ten million rupees. 

A Tamil youth was arrested in Kopay, Jaffna earlier this month for having a photo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on his smartphone. 

Kopay police filed a B report against the youth on charges of "inciting or attempting to incite hatred" under Section 120 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code.  The Jaffna Magistrate Court conducted a case hearing the following day where the arrested youth was produced before the court. 

The youth was  reportedly arrested after the police were alerted about the alleged photograph on his phone. 

^{MP Rishad Bathiudeen}

Former Sri Lankan minister and leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Rishad Bathiudeen MP and his brother Riyaz Bathiudeen were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department early this morning, in connection to the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019.

Sri Lanka’s government, Mass Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella has denied that the government’s decision to proscribe 11 Islamic organisations was intended to ban any religious or political organisation. Instead, he claims it was due to concerns over “national security and inter-communal harmony”.

Addressing a meeting held by the Sri Lanka-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association, Japan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Sugiyama Akira, expressed Japan's interest to broaden the scope of our bilateral relations over the coming years despite concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

The replacement Mullivaikkal memorial was unveiled this morning at the University of Jaffna, after it was destroyed by Sri Lankan authorities earlier this year.