PSPD in English Int. Solidarity 2014-03-18   2430

[Statement] Sri Lanka: Immediately Release Human Rights Defenders, Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan

Sri Lanka: Immediately Release Human Rights Defenders, 

Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan

Applying the Prevention of Terrorism Act to Limit the Legitimate Work of Human Rights Defenders Is a Serious Violation of Human Rights

Access to Lawyers must be Guaranteed Immediately

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(18 March 2014, Seoul) On 16 March 2014, at around 10pm, Mr. Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan, human rights defenders from Sri Lanka, were arrested and detained under a violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act during their fact finding mission on human rights violations of Tamil human rights defenders in Kilinochchi. South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups underline that using the Prevention of Terrorism Act to limit the legitimate work of human rights defenders is a serious violations of human rights and call on the government of Sri Lanka to guarantee their physical and psychological safety and immediate release.

 

South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups express our grave concern at the government’s tendency to vilify the legitimate work of Sri Lankan human rights defenders as anti-government activities. The police announced that two human rights defenders were being charged under a violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, arguing that they had provided information and spread news that could create disharmony in the country and posed a threat to national security.  Mr. Fernando and Father Mahesan have worked for the promotion and protection of the Tamil ethnic minority in Sri Lanka which is facing discrimination. Defining this work as an attempt to create instability among communities and promote separatism is a serious and unjustifiable limit of human rights defenders’ legitimate activities which includes advocating for the human rights of marginalized groups. The government of Sri Lanka must immediately stop committing serious human rights violations against human right defenders and guarantee the freedom to carry out legitimate activities related to human rights advocacy.

 

South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups urge the Sri Lankan government to guarantee due legal process including the right to access to lawyers. According to the media, immediately following their arrest, the police revealed that there were two individuals who had been arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Unit, but did not identify that those two individuals were Mr. Fernando and Father Praveen. On 17 March 2014 around 2am, they were moved to the Terrorist Investigation Division in Vavuniya District for a second investigation. At around 7am later that day they were moved again to the Terrorist Investigation Unit in Colombo. The police later confirmed the two human rights defenders’ identities on 18 March 2014, more than 24 hours after their arrest. This means that their right of access to legal representation has not been guaranteed. Limiting the right of access to lawyers is a serious violation of basic human rights which are enshrined in international human rights law.

 

Most of all, the Prevention of Terrorism Act itself has been considered a draconian law as it limits defenders’ freedom of expression and allows arrest without warrant for ‘illegal’ activities. According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, in the worst case, the government can detain an alleged violator of the Act for up to 18 months without trial, and therefore it is far from clear when these two human rights defenders will finally be released. South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups strongly urge the Sri Lankan government to immediately withdraw the arbitrary application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and release them without delay. Also, South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups call on the Sri Lankan government to guarantee a safe space for human rights defenders to carry out legitimate work. South Korean civil society organisations and religious groups will continue to stand in solidarity with Sri Lankan human rights defenders and call for the immediate release of the two detained human rights defenders and for the promotion and protection of human rights in Sri Lanka. 

 

* Rukshan Fernando (known as Ruki Fernando): Human rights adviser to the INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre. Particularly working on enforced disappearance, freedom of expression, attacks on human rights defenders, in the war affected North and East  of Sri Lanka. Mr. Ferando awarded the 12th Justice & Peace Award from the Bishop Tji Hak Soon Foundation in South Korea in 2009. 

 

* Praveen Mahesan: Parish priest of the Amaithipuran Church at Akkarayan, Kilinochchi district. Former Director of the Center for Peace and Reconciliation.

 

For more information or media inquiry, please contact People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (Ms. Gayoon Baek, pspdint@pspd.org, +82 (0)2 723 5051).

 

Endorsement – 31 civil society organisations and religious groups in South Korea

Advocates for Public Interest Law

Association of Major Superiors of Religious Woman in Korea -The Bureau of Life and Justice

Buddhist human rights committee association of Korean Buddhist orders

Catholic Human Rights Committee

Committee of Justice and Peace, Seoul Archdiocese

Conference of Major Superiors of Korean Men’s Religious Institute and Society of Apostolic life

Dasan Human Rights Center

Disability and Human Rights in Action

Gonggam Human Rights Law Foundation

Human Rights Education Center – Deul

Human Rights Foundation SARAM

Human Rights Institute ‘Chang’

Imagination for International Solidarity 

Jeju Peace Human Rights Center

Jesuit Research Center for Advocacy and Solidarity

Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea

Korea Catholic Federation for Justice

Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy Korea Human Rights Foundation

Korea Human Rights Network

Korea Progressive Network Jinbonet

Korean House for International Solidarity

MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, International Solidarity Committee

MINKAHYUP Human Rights Group

People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy

SARANGBANG Group for Human Rights

Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea

The May 18 Memorial Foundation

The Tji Hak-Soon Justice & Peace Foundation

Woori Theology Institute

World Without War

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