A Batticaloa land reform director was shot and injured outside his home on Wednesday evening.

Nesakumar Vimalraj, director of the Batticaloa Land Reform Commission was shot after he was called outside by two unidentified motorcyclists, whose faces were covered by helmets.

Mr Vimalraj was immediately taken to Kaluvanchikudy Hospital, and later transferred to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital for further care.

Residents of a Kilinochchi village resumed a protest this week calling for the return of their military-occupied lands.

The conviction of a Malaysian human rights activists for screening the ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary amounts to an “outrageous assault on basic free expression” said Human Rights Watch, in a statement released on Wednesday.

Activist Lena Hendry was convicted in Malaysia for screening “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” without the approval of the Malaysian Censorship Board.

Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris stated that the defense had failed to raise a reasonable doubt in the case.

Hendry said that she was disappointed in the decisions and seeks to appeal.

International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) have released a report quoting three female victims who were used as sexual slaves by the Sri Lankan military over prolonged periods under custody.

The cases occurred in 2007, 2009-2013 and 2012-2015 and include different sites: one near Vavuniya, one near Puttalam, one in Colombo and one outside of Colombo but not in the North or East.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is to review women’s rights in several countries signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The review for Sri Lanka is to take place on February 22^nd in Geneva.  

In a recent report to CEDAW, Sri Lanka responded to concerns and recommendations made by CEDAW in the fifth, sixth and seventh periodic reports.

Human Rights Watch accused Sri Lankan leaders of backtracking on pledges made to the UN Human Rights Council over a year ago, as the government faces further scrutiny at Geneva later this month.

On the 31st January, 84 Tamil families from Mullaitivu awaited the scheduled return of their lands, only to be turned away by the Sri Lankan air force personnel whose camp was built on the land.

The families of Pilavu village in Keppapilavu, owners of around 20 acres of occupied land, commenced a protest outside the air force camp, announcing they would stay there until they were given access to their properties.

JR Jayewardene discussing the military assault on Jaffna with a commander.

A set of recently declassified CIA reports reveal how Sri Lanka’s former president J R Jayewardene attempted to garner military support from the United States and position himself as a moderate dedicated to solving the island’s ethnic crisis, even as the Sri Lankan army was committing large scale human rights abuses in the North-East.

Relatives of the missing protested in Kilinochchi on Monday calling for information about the whereabouts of their loved ones.

A retired Sri Lankan army major was charged of sexual assault in Hawaii whilst he was there on a training programme with the Disaster Management Center (DMC). 

The army major, who has not been named, was charged of sexually assaulting a female employee of the hotel where he was staying. 

He was arrested by local police before being charged and deported from the country. 

A protest was held in Vavuniya last week run solidarity with the people of Mullaitivu, calling for the return of their lands.