Category: News

Illegal arrests and illegal detentions damage the legal system

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By BASIL FERNANDO Illegal arrests and illegal detentions do not only harm individuals, they also cause irreparable damage to the legal system as a whole. The recent wave of arrests of those who have participated in peaceful demonstrations has not only caused serious damage to the life and liberty of these individuals but they have caused even much greater damage to the entire legal system of Sri Lanka. This damage will continue to make its impact felt on the system long after these particular incidents have passed and even been…

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Expressing concern over the statement issued by the HRC

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The  Sri  Lanka  Collective  Against  Torture  (SLCAT)  is  gravely  concerned  about  the  statement  issued by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) dated 30 June 2022 titled ‘HRCSL  condemns  the  false  media  broadcast  made  by  the  President  of  the  Committee for  Protecting  Rights of Prisoners’.   The Commission, at the conclusion of its inquiry into the allegation made by Mr. Senaka Perera,  President of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners, that imprisoned persons were used  on  9 May  2022  to attack  peaceful  protestors, makes many assertions and allegations  that…

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HR Commission tells AG to file criminal action about Rambukkana shooting

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The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has advised the Attorney General to Investigate and file appropriate criminal proceedings against SSP K. B. Keerthiratne with regard to the Rambukkana Shooting. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also directed the Inspector General of Police to take disciplinary action against Former SSP for Kegalle K. B. Keerthiratne over the Rambukkana shooting. The HRCSL in a statement said that the report on the shooting on protestors by police was prepared and is ready. “Orders to shoot at people who were running away,…

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Are you a victim of torture?

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The Right to Life human rights center and the Sri Lanka Collective Against Torture held the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on the occasion of “Are You a victim of Torture?” A panel discussion was held on the 27th at the BMICH. Former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission Ambika Sathkulanathan, retired Senior DIG Priyantha Jayakody and Executive Director of Right to Life Human Rights Center Philip Dissanayake were the chief guests at the event. They discussed how the government has acted against peaceful protests in the…

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Bringing Justice and Relief to Torture Victims

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Today is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture That Sri Lanka is a country where torture is rife has been well documented by several international organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and Freedom From Torture. According to Freedom from Torture, despite being a top holiday destination, Sri Lanka has consistently been the country from where it receives the most clients. Although the civil war ended in 2009, that has not ended human rights violations. Most at risk of torture…

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SRI LANKA: Two big lies told about the 1978 Constitution

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By Basil Fernando Two great lies have been propagated about the 1978 Constitution. When a lie is repeated many times by many persons, often such a lie begins to be treated as a conventional truth. The first of these lies is that the 1978 Constitution was created on the model of the French Constitution and the American Constitutional tradition. This was first propagated by Professor A.J. Wilson who called it a Gaullist Constitution. At the time, he was the advisor to President J.R. Jayewardene, a role which he publicly lamented…

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I come from a country that does not have justice for victims and keeps impunity for offenders – Sandhya tell journalists community at IFJ 31.

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At the 31st World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Sandhya Ekneligoda, the wife of missing journalist, Prageeth Ekneligoda, spoke against impunity for the officials who are responsible for the disappearance of her husband. Dear colleagues of the IFJ, first I need to give my heartiest thanks to you for this opportunity. There are many brave journalists in Sri Lanka who have handled their pens and brushes against injustice. I will start my speech with my remembrance of the journalists who faced persecution, disappearance, and were killed. Journalist…

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Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order noticed to showcase: Why SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon is not transferred?

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Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage today issued an order directing the Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order to show cause as to why the Ministry failed to transfer Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, ignoring the Attorney General’s instructions. On May 23, the Attorney General had instructed the IGP to transfer Western Province Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon with immediate effect to prevent unnecessary intervention into the investigations relating to the attacks on peaceful protesters. President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne appearing for the aggrieved party told court that the authorities…

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Permission to hear the Fundamental Rights Petition against the Baduraliya Police

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The Supreme Court yesterday(16) granted leave to hear a fundamental rights petition filed by Suranjith Wickremanayake alleging that he was brutally beaten and arbitrarily arrested by officers of the Baduraliya Police Station. The Supreme Court has allowed the petition to be heard in violation of the Constitution’s right to refrain from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, as well as the right to arbitrary arrest and impunity. Attorney-at-Law Shelomi Daniel appeared before the Supreme Court on behalf of the petitioner along with Attorney-at-Law Armisa Tigel on the…

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Victims of Rambukkana police shooting to go to Supreme Court!

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It is being revealed that the shooting that took place at the protest rally in Rambukkana on April 19 demanding fuel was not a shooting to disperse the protesters. Chaminda Lakshan, 41, was shot dead and 14 others were shot dead by police. Meanwhile, it is reported that another group has been brutally assaulted by the police. During the hearing at the Kegalle Magistrate’s Court, the Kegalle Magistrate stated that the shooting was a homicide and ordered the officers who ordered the shooting to be arrested immediately and produced before…

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