In the wake of various criticisms behind the detention of retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala said yesterday he was legally detained under provisions of the PTA and that there is nothing wrong with that.
The Deputy Minister told the Daily Mirror that there is no intervention of the government in the matter and that Sallay was detained as per the provisions of the PTA.
“It is legal and only imposing provisions of an Act,” he said.
Responding to a question, Watagala said the government will definitely abolish the PTA as promised.
“However, we need to have a law until it is abolished,” he said.
Various Opposition MPs including Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa raised concerns regarding the detention of Sallay under the PTA.
Rajapaksa said many of the very activists who spent years campaigning against the PTA are now silent and said their sudden silence raises serious questions about consistency and principle.
Former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Pieris, PC said that lawyers and human rights advocates had long condemned the abuse of laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act, and Emergency Regulations by successive governments.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Pieris reiterated the need for equal application of constitutional safeguards and human rights protections, regardless of the identity of the individual concerned.
He stated that these laws had frequently been used to keep individuals in custody for prolonged and unnecessary periods and had contributed to a culture of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in police stations and prisons.