Sri Lankan police have summoned Tamil human rights activist S. Sivayoganathan for further inquiry, months after he lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) over the suppression of a Tamil commemorative event.
At approximately 10:10 a.m. on 27 July 2025, an officer from the Kokkaddicholai Police Station in Batticaloa delivered a letter to Mr. Sivayoganathan’s residence. The letter, which was written entirely in Sinhala, was returned by the activist, who asserted that issuing official communication in a language other than Tamil constituted a violation of his linguistic rights.
Later that same day, around 12:00 noon, the same police officer returned to the residence and handed over the same letter, this time translated into Tamil.
According to the letter, Sivayoganathan has been summoned to appear at the office of the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Batticaloa at 4:00 p.m. on 28 July. The summons is in connection to an inquiry relating to a complaint he had filed against the police.
The ongoing inquiry stems from an incident in April this year, when police from four Batticaloa district occupying stations, Batticaloa, Kattankudy, Kokkaddicholai, and Santhiveli, obtained a court order prohibiting Mr. Sivayoganathan and two others from participating in a commemorative event in honour of Annai Poopathi, a prominent female figure remembered for her role in the Tamil liberation struggle.
Sivayoganathan subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Batticaloa office of the Human Rights Commission on 21 April 2025, arguing that the police action constituted a violation of his fundamental human rights.
He was initially summoned to the ASP’s office on 13 June for an inquiry, and the latest notice marks a continuation of the investigation process.
The incident has raised ongoing concerns regarding ongoing linguistic discrimination and the suppression of Tamil remembrance activities in the North-East. Rights groups have repeatedly criticised the use of court orders and police intimidation to curtail freedom of assembly and expression, particularly when it comes to Tamil commemorative events.
