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Rights groups warn against proposed Sri Lanka Anti-Terrorism Act – JURIST

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Friday condemned Sri Lanka’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, arguing that it would allow authorities to systematically violate fundamental human rights. HRW recommended that the government withdraw the bill until it can properly uphold international human rights standards.The current format of the bill, intended to replace the 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act, includes crimes such as property damage, theft or robbery and would restrict the rights to freedom of assembly and speech. The bill further grants the president, police and military broad powers to detain people without evidence.“The proposed counterterrorism law would permit the Sri Lankan government to continue to use draconian measures to silence peaceful critics and target minorities,” South Asia Director at Human Rights Watch Meenakshi Ganguly argued. “The government’s crackdown on dissent and misuse of existing counterterrorism laws to arbitrarily detain protesters highlights the obvious risk of abuse.”The International Commission of Jurists warned that the bill appears to move Sri Lanka’s judicial system towards the death penalty, despite the fact that the region placed a moratorium on executions in 1976. Clause 4(1)(a) of the bill would introduce the death penalty for “the terrorism offence of murder.”Similarly, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) released a statement outlining the dangers of the proposed bill. The CPA noted:At a time when Sri Lanka is pursuing a path of recovery and rebuilding, it is critical to ensure that genuine measures are taken to address recurring practices of abuse and impunity and uphold the rule of law and democracy in Sri Lanka. Lawmakers must understand that given the history of abuse there is a long way to go in building public trust, and the onus is on the State to recover that trust by putting all the necessary checks and balances in place.In 2023 Sri Lanka has already seen the suspension of parliament and the imposition of international sanctions on former presidents for wartime rights violations.