TAKE ACTION:
- Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on July 7, 2022.
- Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
- Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 42.22. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Director of Terrorism Investigation Division
Mr. A.R.P.J. Alwis
No. 149, Bootani Capital Building,
Polhengoda, Colombo 05
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2384403
Email:
[email protected]
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Mr. A.R.P.J Alwis,
I write in relation to the case of Mohamed Imaam Mohamed Imran, a computer engineering student, who was arrested by the police in Kattankudy on May 9, 2019, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), when he was just 20-years-old. Three years since his detention, Imran is yet to be charged and the state has not produced any evidence of him committing an internationally recognizable crime. This is a violation of Imran’s rights to be free from arbitrary arrest, and to be promptly informed of any charges against him.
According to Imran’s family, upon his arrest, no arrest receipt or detention order was provided to them. A detention order was only issued to Imran on March 29, 2022, two years and ten months after Imran’s arrest. These procedural lapses, along with abusive provisions within the PTA, violate due process safeguards and international human rights law.
Imran has only been produced in court four times since his arrest, the last time being September 2021. The lack of judicial oversight and prolonged administrative detention in this case leaves Imran at risk of torture or other ill-treatment at the hands of the police.
The prolonged detention without charge of Mohamed Imaam Mohamed Imran is a violation of international fair trial standards and the authorities’ legal obligations in line with Sri Lanka’s obligations under the ICCPR.
I therefore urge you to release Mohamed Imaam Mohamed Imran, or if there is sufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing, promptly charge him with a recognisable offence, in accordance with international standards. Pending release or charge, authorities must ensure his fair trial rights are guaranteed, that he has the right to challenge the lawfulness of his detention, and has access to fair bail hearings.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES