UN Special Rapporteur raises concerns on arrests of IUSF activists under PTA

• UN Special Rapporteur calls on President to not sign detention orders 
• Police probing Mudalige’s link to series of violent incidents 
• IGP hands over investigations to CID 

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor has expressed her concern about the arrests of Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) activists Wasantha Mudalige, Hashan Jeevantha and Galwewa Siridamma Thera under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act. 

The trio were arrested last Thursday by the Sri Lanka Police following a protest by the IUSF against the ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe - Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’ Government in Colombo. Mudalige already had a pending arrest warrant against him at the time.

Following their arrests, a 72-hour detention order was obtained from a Superintendent of Police to detain and interrogate the three arrestees the Police said. 

According to Police Spokesman SSP Nihla Talduwa, they were detained in order to be questioned about the violent incidents that took place across the country following the 31 March protest near the private residence of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Mirihana. 

“More incidents of violence took place on 9 May, 9 July and 13 July,” he said, adding that Mudalige’s statements to the media thereafter made it seem he had a link to these incidents. 

“The IGP had ordered Senior Officers to look into this possibility and they had reported back that a conspiracy against the state was in play and that it should be investigated,” he said.  

Talduwa also confirmed that investigators have requested the approval of the Minister of Defence, President Ranil Wickremesinghe to extend the detention of the activists for further questioning. 

But Lawlor has called on President Wickremesinghe not to sign their detention order. “Doing so would be a dark day for Sri Lanka,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the interrogation of Mudalige and two others were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday on the instructions of IGP C.D. Wickramaratne.