UN Special Rapporteur Says PTA Detainee Hejaaz Hizbullah Has Been Wrongfully Connected To Easter 2019

Sri Lanka Updates

1. Government Amplifies Prevention Of Terrorism Act In Sri Lanka

2. Under New PTA Regulations, 11 Muslim Groups Banned in Sri Lanka

3. Government Begins Framework For Anti-Conversion Laws

4. Unlawful PTA Allows For Detention Up To 18 Months Without Trial Or Charge In Sri Lanka

5. U.S. Congress Introduces Bipartisan Resolution On Sri Lanka To Seek Justice And Accountability

6. Government Moves Forward With Burqa And Niqab Ban

7. Res 413 Has Been Sent To The U.S House Foreign Affairs Committee

8. European Parliament Threatens To Pull GSP+ Status If PTA Not Repealed

9. UNHRC Chief Says Government Policies Have Targeted Muslims

10. Sri Lankan President Pardons 94, Including Convicted Murderer

11. China’s Oppression Of Muslims Could Be Influencing Srilanka

12. PTA Detainee Hejaaz Hizbullah Has Been Declared A Prisoner Of Conscience

13. Threat Of Intergovernmental Militarization Looms

14. Right To Protest Under Threat As 42 Arrested

15. Rapporteur Says That De-radicalization Regulations Could Lead To Silence Of Those Who Criticize Government

16. Covid Burial Site Already Reaching Capacity As Additional Space Confirmed

17. Opposition Party Accuses President Of Becoming Authoritarian

18. UN Special Rapporteur Says PTA Detainee Hejaaz Hizbullah Has Been Wrongfully Connected To Easter 2019

19. Prison Conditions Poor, Overcrowded; Detainees Tell Stories Of Sexual Assault And Torture

20. President Rajapaksa meets with UN Secretary General Antony Guterres

21. BBS Monk Thero Makes Hateful Comments About Muslims On Television

22. India, China, And Sri Lanka Are Connected In Targeted Oppression

23. Justice Minister Sabry Says PTA Is Unlikely To Ever Be Abolished

The United Nations Special Rapporteur of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor said on September 7 that they believe human rights lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah was wrongfully connected to the terrorist attacks on Easter 2019. Hizbullah has been unlawfully detained under the PTA since April 2020.

Lawlor said they believe his previous human rights work and legal profession could have been falsely conflated with terrorism in relation to the 2019 Easter bombings. Lawlor again stated that the PTA needed to conform to international human rights standards.

It was also pointed out that in the year and a half he has been detained, he has only had legal counsel four times, all of which have been supervised.

In July 2021, seven UN Special Rapporteurs had sent a letter to the Government of Sri Lanka asking for detailed information on Hizbullah’s arrest and detention, asking to to explain his charges in relation to the definition of terrorism under international legal terms, why he did not have confidential access to his lawyers, and what his prison conditions were.

Articles:

Hizbullah’s human rights work conflated with terrorism: Mary Lawlor

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