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Mr. W. Dayaratne, President, Bar Association of Sri Lanka Hulftsdorp Colombo 12 Sri Lanka Facsimile: 94 11 2448090 Email: wdaya@slt.lk Dear Mr. Dayaratne, By now the Bar Association must be aware of ...

Yesterday an announcement was received by registrars of all courts and a number of human rights lawyers by a group that calls itself the Mahason Balakaya (Mahason Battalion). The notice threatens deat...

In Sri Lanka the legal profession is very much a threatened profession. The recent grenade attack on September 27 on the residence of senior lawyer, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, once again brought to the notic...

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received two cases regarding arbitrary arrest and detention of three men by police without orders from the court. A young man has been detain...

The Faculty of Law was established 60 years ago to enhance the legal education in Sri Lanka as such education was to provide the qualified persons to run the institutions in the country within the fra...

“Man arrested by the police yesterday was found dead today”, was the heading of a news item yesterday in a well known Sri Lankan newspaper. Such a report of custodial deaths is so common that t...

Joint statements at the second substantive session of the PrepCom (6-17 October 2008) Objective 1, section B: Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Dear Madam Ch...

The only way to prevent the three convicted Sri Lankans in Saudi Arabia from facing public execution by beheading is to lodge an appeal within 30 days from the date of conviction and this can only be ...

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a father and his 14-year-old son were illegally arrested and taken to Kurunegala Police Station by officers on 11 J...

The Negombo High Court last week acquitted the accused in a torture case where a Sub Inspector of Police was charged with an offense under the CAT Act (Act No. 22 of 1994) punishable with seven years ...

SOURCE: Free Media Movement (FMM), Colombo (FMM/IFEX) – The Free Media Movement (FMM) registers is deep disquiet over the indictment of the General Secretary of Campaign for Free and Fair Electi...

(Hong Kong, October 13, 2008) We reproduce below the resolution passed unanimously at a general meeting of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka which met on the 11th October. This general meeting was held...

(The following letter was sent today to the following Sri Lankan authorities: Inspector General of Police, Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Natio...

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Ambalantota police officers assaulted a minor and arbitrarily arrested and detained her and her sister in the custo...

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the illegal arrest and detention of a man in Kandy in May 2008 who was not produced before a court for four mo...

The High Court judge of Negombo has acquitted the accused in the torture case of Lalith Rajapakse stating that the brain injury that the torture victim claimed due to assaults inside the Kandana Polic...

In the most significant blow dealt by the Supreme Court against the system of the executive presidency introduced by the 1978 Constitution, yesterday (October 8, 2008), a former president of Sri Lanka...

(Hong Kong, October 7, 2008) We reproduce below a letter written by a senior lawyer, R.K.W. Goonersekere, who was a member of the delegation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka that met the Executive ...

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT AI Index No: ASA 37/029/2008 Date: 6 October 2008 In the wake of this morning’s suicide bombing, Amnesty International calls again on all parties in the conflic...

The Asian Human Rights Commission is forwarding two releases by Sri Lankan organisations on the matter of the grenade attack on the residence of senior lawyer, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna Sri Lanka: Breakdown ...