The Sri Lankan Attorney General must not further delay his consent to bail out Wasantha Mudalige. All terror charges against Mudalige under the draconian counter-terror law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, must be dropped immediately demands Amnesty International South Asia.
Amnesty International South Asia says that Sri lankan authorities must immediately drop the baseless terror related charges against wasantha mudalige and other protesters. Also requests to repeal the prevention of terrorism act (pta) and end its use. They further demand to review the detention of others held under the PTA, ensuring adequate access to fair bail hearings, and immediate release for all those not facing internationally recognisable charges.
Sri Lankan student leader Wasantha Mudalige, the convener of Inter University Students’ Federation has been detained by the Sri Lankan authorities since 18 August 2022. They had their detention extended for 90 days on 21 August 2022 under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) amidst an ongoing crackdown on protesters by the authorities.
Their family members and lawyer have raised concerns about their safety and deteriorating health while in detention. Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action on the arbitrary detention of the student leaders.
Amnesty International has previously documented the crackdown by the Sri Lankan authorities on protesters who now face intimidation, harassment and arrest. The suppression of protest and the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement and expression must stop and the government must protect the right to protest.