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An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the Magistrates to visit places of detention has been turned into a political issue by a section of the government and by some extreme nationali...

By Basil Fernando The release of the convicted murderer Duminda Silva is a reckless act which will have lasting consequences on the social organization of Sri Lanka and the social consciousness of the...

01. ස්ථාවර හා සෞභාග්‍යමත් සමාජයක අත්තිවාරම වන්නේ සාධාරණ නීති පද්ධතියක් හා �...

By Basil Fernando On the universal day for torture victims, this year, a book will be launched by The Right to Life organization working in collaboration with the AHRC on a long standing case, which i...

By Basil Fernando One of the issues that demonstrated the approach of the Sri Lankan authorities to the problem of enforced disappearances could be discovered in a close study of the narrative of the ...

By Basil Fernando The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill has been passed. However, the Bill that was passed was not what the Government wanted. The decision of the Supreme Court which held tha...

A video presentation on the loss of criminal justice capacity in many developing countries and the impact of this on social stability and peace. It is discussed in relation to Sri Lanka, but the basic...

By Basil Fernando Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes place a...

Arundhati Roy, prominent writer and social activist in India has written several important articles in the recent few days on the problem of the spread of Covid-19 and the vast numbers of deaths that ...

By Basil Fernando The recommendations by a Commission appointed by the President, recommending that a large number of criminal cases that have been filed in the Courts of Sri Lanka be withdrawn, is th...

Publication from the Centre for society and religion forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The center for religion and society (CSR) Colombo has published the 200th issue of social justice. T...

By Basil Fernando  Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith presided over the 21st of April commemoration with the participation of other religious leaders. Talking about the issue, he has said that the problem is n...

By Basil Fernando The Criminal Justice Commissions (CJC) Act, No. 14 of 1972, marked the beginning of the collapse of Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system. The process that started then, gradually ex...

By Basil Fernando It is not for fun that the Government established processes for taking decisions and implementing them. It is the age old wisdom gained through various experiences throughout history...

By Basil Fernando There are a number of entrenched beliefs which have become institutional doctrines within the policing system which contribute to the continuing practice of torture. No suspect will ...

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon ...

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon...

By Basil Fernando A brutal attack by Police Officers caught on a video tape has gone viral on social media. It has caused expressions of public dismay about the levels of violence that Sri Lankan Poli...

By Basil Fernando The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favou...

By Basil Fernando In answering the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, the faithful living in various parts of the country wore black and attended the churches as a protest against t...