Attorney Dhanushka Silva Explores History and Impact of the Prevention of Terrorism Act

Attorney Dhanushka Silva recently presented his insights on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) during a two-day conference organized for regional leaders by the Right to Life Human Rights Centre. The event, held at the Camelot Hotel in Negombo, attracted many regional representatives and staff members of the Right to Life Human Rights Centre. In his presentation, Attorney Silva explored the historical and contextual background of the PTA, highlighting its introduction to Parliament in 1979 by the former State Minister, Lalith Athulathmudali. Silva explained that Minister Athulathmudali, in justifying the…

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Civil society groups have condemned the Foreign Ministry’s response to Ambika

Civil society groups have condemned the Foreign Ministry’s response to Ambika

160 civil society activists and 47 organizations issued a statement of solidarity condemning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response to former commissioner of the Human Rights Commission Ms. Ambika Satkunanthan. Full publication On 27 January 2022 the government of Sri Lanka gazetted the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Bill. We the undersigned express our deep disappointment that the proposed amendments do not address any of the shortcomings in the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) that enable grave human rights violations. We highlight that the PTA has been historically used…

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