Sri Lanka urges student activists to be released due to protests

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Human rights groups urged Sri Lanka to release a prominent student activist who was arrested five months ago during anti-government protests triggered by the country’s worst economic crisis He was not charged under severe anti-terrorism laws.

Wasantha Mudalige was due to appear in court Tuesday, for a bail hearing.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are just two of seven human rights organizations that stated that courts can refuse bail to those who oppose it under the powerful Prevention of Terrorism Act. This Act has been in use since 1979.

Mudalige is the convenor of the Inter-University Students’ Federation and was involved in monthslong anti-government demonstrations last year. Protesters demanded broad-based reforms to end the economic crisis that led to shortages in essential goods and fuel, as Sri Lanka defaulted on massive amounts of debt.

Protests culminated in Gotabaya Rajapaksa being forced to resign after thousands stormed his house in July.

Ranil Wickremesinghe was his successor and initiated talks with the International Monetary Fund to discuss a bailout package that would be contingent upon reforms and restructuring of debt. Wickremesinghe’s government also provided assistance. sweeping powers to the authorities arresting many activists as part of a crackdown on protests.

Rights groups claim that the military has tried to stop protests by inciting, surveillance, and arbitrary arrests ever since Wickremesinghe assumed office in July.

While many of the detained were released on bail, rights groups claim that authorities used extraordinary power to keep Mudalige locked up despite not presenting any evidence of his involvement with terrorism.

The groups said in a statement Monday that for much of the time, Mudalige has been held in “solitary confinement and poor conditions, which can violate the prohibition on torture or other ill-treatment under international human rights law.”

Mudalige was also detained and held for three months in 2021 after protesting for free education.

Opposition lawmakers, rights, and student activists have demanded the release Mudalige for months and an end of government crackdowns on protests related to the economic crisis.

A call to the government for comment on Mudalige was not returned immediately by government spokespersons.

Rights groups also asked the government for the repeal of the anti-terror legislation, which allows up to one year of detention free of charge, on orders from the defense ministry, a position held currently by Wickremesinghe.

The March reforms to the antiterror law were introduced by the government. Opposition and rights groups criticized the changes and claimed they were cosmetic. They also said that the law allows suspects to be detained without warrants and can allow confessions obtained by torture. They say the law, introduced during the country’s civil war in 1979, has been widely abused, causing a large number of innocent people to spend years in prison without trial.

Wickremesinghe was elected by Parliament to complete Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024. Because he is still supported by the Rajapaksa clan, which ruled Sri Lanka for the majority of the past 20 years, he is not popular. Many suspect Wickremesinghe, who is widely blamed for the corruption that led to the crisis, of protecting Rajapaksas.

Sri Lanka has declared itself bankrupt and suspended repayments of $7 billion of foreign debt due in the current year. This is pending the outcome negotiations with the IMF. The country’s total foreign debt exceeds $51 billion, of which $28 billion has to be repaid by 2027.