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Executive Summary
Context: Sri Lanka opposes the draft Resolution at the UN Human Rights Council and rejects any related mandate. But asserts it is committed to addressing human rights concerns domestically.
The Acting IGP instructed police to stop interfering with public video recording, stating it’s legal.
The Acting Inspector General of Police has also introduced the 1997 hotline to report all forms of misconduct, including bribery, by police officers.
It has been communicated to all police officers by Acting IGP through a special internal circular that identifies individuals’ ability to access and utilise digital media.
The Magistrate of Kuliyapitiya ordered the immediate arrest and court presentation of the Chief Inspector of Police due to an alleged attack on a man during an investigation of a family dispute.
A tense situation arose between the police and locals when a large group of locals gathered in front of the police station and demonstrated against the alleged brutal beating of two youths who had been arrested by the police.
Superintendent T. M. Ajantha Rodrigo was named new Director of Public Order Management but was quickly removed due to social media backlash over human rights violations.
The Police Commission has sanctioned the reappointment of former SSP Shani Abeysekera to the Police service for a duration of one year under a contractual agreement.
Tamil residents stopped government officials from surveying land for a Navy camp in Mandaitivu.
A petition has been submitted to the District Governor requesting that the Mullaitivu – Keppapulavu lands be released and handed over to them.
Residents and activists organized a demonstration in front of the Northern Province Governor’s office in Jaffna this week, calling for the restitution of land currently held by the Sri Lankan military.
Tamil residents in Manthai West protest for the return of ancestral lands.
Tamils residing in Kattaidamban, Mannar, assembled in front of the Madhu Divisional Secretariat to express their opposition to the Sri Lankan Forestry Department’s appropriation of their ancestral lands.
Manuel Uthayachandra, the convener of the North-East Valindu Families of the Disappeared Association, was arrested by police and released on bail.
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Police have issued another summons to Thambirasa Selvarani, the head of the Association for Enforced Disappearances in Ampara.
A supporter of National People’s Power interrupted a protest, harassing and threatening demonstrators in Vavuniya.
The leader of the Tamil National People’s Front, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, announced that his party is ready to firmly oppose Sri Lanka’s unitary constitution.
Cabinet minister Vijitha Herath said that the government will investigate past crimes and expedite seven high-profile cases.
The Cabinet approved the President’s proposal to raise the bribery raid account limit to Rs. 150 million.
M.R.Y.K. Udawela has been designated as the new Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption subsequent to the resignation of the previous Director General.
DIG Dhammika Priyantha has been designated as the new Director of the State Intelligence Service.
Selvin Ireneuss Mariampillai was appointed chairman of Palmyrah Development Board, but faced opposition from the United Workers’ Union for alleged financial irregularities and misconduct.
Former Sri Lankan Navy Commander, Admiral Sirimevan Sarathchandra Ranasinghe, has been appointed as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, accused of shielding a suspect in the abduction and murder of 11 youths.
It has been revealed by transgender workers employed in the Export Processing Zones that transgender persons that are employed by manpower agencies are more prone to be exploited compared to others.
Media Spokesperson of Prisons Commission stated that attention will be paid to allocating separate spaces for transgender prisoners in prisons to be built in the near future.
The government states that three separate intelligence teams have been appointed to monitor 24-hour information provided by foreign intelligence services on matters related to the country’s security.
The Director of Law Enforcement at the National Child Protection Authority has disclosed that the authority employs merely three attorneys to handle all criminal cases involving children.
The police have notified the Colombo Magistrate’s Court of their initiation of investigations aimed at capturing the main suspect linked to the incident involving the distribution of defamatory posters aimed at the Mannar High Court Judge.
The case involving the Good Shepherd Convent in Nuwara Eliya, where the principal, a Reverend sister, allegedly assaulted twelve students, has ignited a discussion regarding corporal punishment in educational institutions and the urgent need for enhanced oversight.
Private individual’s land suspected to contain LTTE weapons interred, but unsuccessful excavations in Vadduvaakal region, Mullaitivu Police Division, failed to uncover any materials.
Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Thuyacontha stated that the Sri Lankan government has no intention to restrict the entitlement of tri forces personnel.
The Ministry of Defense has made the decision to temporarily reclaim all firearms and ammunition that were distributed to civilians for the purpose of self-defense.
Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed new governors for the nine provinces. Nagalingam Vethanayagam is the Governor of the Northern Province, and Professor Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera is the Governor of the Eastern Province.
Residents in Mullaitivu district report that free drinking water supply from the Army has ended. The army camp had supplied water in Kappapilau for a long time.
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Case updates: Indictments were handed over before the Colombo High Court against five defendants, including former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal, for allegedly causing the government to lose Rs. 184 million by investing in Greek bonds.
The Supreme Court has dismissed four petitions seeking a ruling that the fundamental human rights have been violated through the Government’s decision to reduce the interest paid for the investments of Employees’ Provident Fund in Treasury bills and bonds to 9%, under the domestic debt restructuring process.
The government has dismissed the report from the investigative committee regarding the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, which was presented by former Member of Parliament Udaya Gammanpila. Minister Vijitha Herath indicated that the government will initiate a new investigation into the case. Gammanpila was heavily criticised by many parties, including Minister Herath implying that the timing of the report, shortly before the general election, was a reflection of personal motives rather than a genuine effort for accountability.
The Office on Missing Persons has successfully identified 16 individuals who have been reported missing since the year 2000, from a total of around 6,000 inquiries conducted since December 2022. Also stated that they are not allowed to disclose the identities of these individuals without their consent.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo issued a security alert, saying it received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist destinations in the Arugam Bay. As a result U.S. citizens were strongly advised to avoid Arugam Bay until further notice. The British High Commission and Russian Embassy, too updated their travel advisory altering their citizens visiting Sri Lanka.
The Supreme Court has granted the petitioners permission to include former President Ranil Wickremesinghe as a respondent in a Fundamental Rights petition that contests the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Inspector General of Police.
The Sri Lankan government will investigate the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster causing environmental harm. The ship’s owner will pay for beach cleaning, but claims for civil liability costs remain unfiled.
The Ministry of Mass Media proposed a chartered professional journalists’ institute to improve the quality of journalism.
In Vavuniya, the families of the forcibly disappeared called for US Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and the US government to address their grievances and investigate the disappearances of their loved ones.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is willing to testify in the habeas corpus inquiry regarding the 2011 disappearance of activists Lalith Weeraraj and Koogan Muruganandan, but only before a court other than the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court.
The Supreme Court allowed former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to be named as a respondent in the fundamental rights petitions filed against the Police for their violent crackdown on a 2022 protest.
P. Ariyanenthiran, who contested as the Tamil ‘common candidate’ in Sri Lanka’s recent presidential elections, has been summoned by the Terrorism Investigation Division for questioning, along with his campaign supporters.
Demonstrations have taken place outside the Tissa Vihara, a Buddhist temple that is reportedly built in contravention of legal regulations and infringes upon the properties owned by local inhabitants in Thaiyiddy.
In November 2020, prisoners at Mahara Prison protested for COVID-19 testing and better medical care. The unrest led to 11 inmates’ deaths from gunfire by prison guards. In 2023, a court deemed the deaths a crime, but the Attorney General’s Department instructed the CID to close the case, claiming officers acted legally in self-defense.
Three directors of W. M. Mendis and Company Ltd. received six months in prison for not paying Rs. 3. 5 billion in VAT. The court denied their appeal to move the case to the High Court and pay in installments.
The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that the new government plans to review the wind power project in Mannar, involving India’s Adani Group.
A petition claims former Director of the State Intelligence Service Nilantha Jayawardena did not do his part to stop the Easter Sunday attack.
Excavation activities at the Mannar mass grave have recommenced, notwithstanding the restrictions against photography or video documentation of the ongoing excavations.
Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said that the government will urgently investigate the misplacement of files from the Criminal Investigation Department related to the investigation into the controversial MiG fighter jet deal during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
The Minister, Vijitha Herath, announced that the government has initiated an inquiry regarding the purported occurrence of missing pages from the Special Presidential Commission’s report on the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.
Fr. Fernando expressed alarm that the Presidential Commission’s report on the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which had been handed to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and then to the Attorney General’s Department, had gone missing.
The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) has determined that several officials violated the rights of standup comedian Nathasha Edirisuriya.
In an inquiry conducted by the Sri Lanka’s Police Headquarters, it was revealed that Yukthiya Meheyuma (Operation Justice) has failed to meet its objectives as it has been criticised as nothing but a media spectacle rather than a genuine effort to combat drug trafficking.
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Election Situation: The Executive Director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), stated that the election for the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha was conducted peacefully; however, it did not exhibit a significant level of enthusiasm.
Sasikala Raviraj, who contested from the Jaffna district has filed a complaint with the Chavakachcheri Police alleging that a group of people attacked her house.
Chanu Nimesha, serving as the Secretary of Women’s Affairs for the Sri Lanka Socialist Party, has made history by being the first transgender person to run for an election in Sri Lanka.
Source:- luce.lanazione.it
A prison guard and his brother who assaulted the Kalkuda organizer of the National People’s Power party were arrested by officers of the Sandiveli Police.
Repression of Media and Journalists: Induka Silva, head of the police Criminal Investigation Department’s homicide unit, sought legal action against Tharindu Jayawardhana, editor-in-chief of MediaLK, over a video in which Tharindu Jayawardhana commented on allegations of misconduct against Silva.
Colombo Additional Magistrate has ordered the Cinnamon Gardens Police to investigate death threats received by Tissa Ravindra Perera, Deputy News Editor of the ‘Aruna’ newspaper.
Tamil Guardian journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan, was apprehended due to his coverage of protests related to purported corrupt practices by a local government official in 2020.
In a media release issued by Mullaitivu Media Association to commemorate the 24th death anniversary of journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan stated that Tamil-speaking journalists continue to face harassment, intimidation and surveillance by state security apparatuses, including intelligence and the military.
Freedom of assembly and association: The Tamil People’s Alliance (TPA) alleges police misconduct after an attack on their supporters in Jaffna. Their initial complaint was ignored but later accepted. The TPA claims police handcuffed victims in the hospital under superiors’ orders.
Lakshman Nipunarachchi’s statement at a rally in Kesbewa criticised the frequent disruptions caused by strikes in sectors like education, healthcare, and transportation, and expressed a vision for a future where such issues no longer exist.
Repressive Legal and Policy Action: Coordinator of the Voice of the Voiceless Organization, stated that although the Tamil political prisoners who were arrested and detained under the Anti-Terrorism Act have been released, they are still being subjected to both direct and indirect forms of interrogation.
Other Incidents: A young man was arrested for allegedly obstructing police while filming an SUV accident near Wariyapola. The SUV reportedly belongs to former minister Lohan Ratwatte. A video shows a police officer, identifying himself as the OIC of the Wariyapola Traffic Division, threatening the young man recording the incident.
Source:- Asian Mirror
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