COUNTERING TERRORISM AT THE EXPENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

CONCERNS WITH SRI LANKA’S COUNTER TERRORISM BILL

SRI LANKA: COUNTERING TERRORISM AT THE EXPENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

BACKGROUND

 When the government of the time lifted the State of Emergency in August 2011, the Emergency Regulations that had paved the way for prolonged detention of suspects without charge under the Public Security Ordinance also lapsed. However, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), intended as a temporary piece of legislation in 1979 that contained provisions similar to the Emergency Regulations, was retained to become a permanent feature of Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system. It allowed for extended periods of detention without charge. It was intended to prevent “elements or groups of persons or associations that advocate the use of force or the commission of a crime as a means of, or as an aid in, accomplishing governmental change within Sri Lanka.”1

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