Arrests of rights defenders in Sri Lanka condemned

The detention of prominent human rights defenders in Sri Lanka is an attempt to silence criticism and divert the spotlight from ongoing abuses, leading rights monitors have said.

A joint statement was issued Monday by Amnesty International, Forum Asia, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group and the International Commission of Jurists.

Ruki Fernando of the Colombo-based INFORM and Father Praveen Mahesan, a Catholic priest, were arrested in Kilinochchi March 16 and are believed to be detained without formal charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

"The Sri Lankan authorities need to release Fernando and Father Praveen, and end the ongoing state harassment of human rights defenders," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's deputy director for Asia Pacific.

"How can the international community take Sri Lanka's claims to respect rights seriously when rights defenders continue to face intimidation and criminal charges for demanding accountability and human rights protection?"

The police detained and questioned Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen after they sought to ensure the welfare of 13-year-old Balendran Vithushaini, who had been ordered into probationary care following the March 13 arrest of her mother, Balendran Jeyakumari.

Both mother and daughter are active opponents of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka and have been prominently featured in international media coverage of demonstrations by families of the disappeared, most recently in Jaffna in November 2013 during a visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Fernando and Father Praveen were questioned separately in two different buildings for more than three hours by several officers.

Lawyers acting on their behalf were given contradictory information about the arrests and the reasons for their detention.

The most recent information is that Fernando and Father Praveen have been taken to police Terrorism Investigation Division headquarters in Colombo, and their lawyers are still seeking access to them, the statement said.

The human rights groups said the arrests are particularly disturbing since a resolution on Sri Lanka's failure to address accountability is under discussion and will be voted on at the ongoing Human Rights Council meet in Geneva.