Two arrested
from JVP dissident group
Mr. Premakumar Gunarathnamthe leader of the JVP dissident
group and Ms. DimuthuAttigala a member of the same group are reported to
bemissing from yesterday night. According to a report,published today in the
Daily Mirror, both have beenarrested. However the grounds on which they were
arrested orthe location of the place of detention have not beenrevealed.
The JVP dissident group hasbeen known for taking a proactive
task in supporting the astruggle of workers and other marginalized groups such
asthe fisher folk who have, in recent weeks, held variousprotest activities
against the rise of oil prices and otherlivelihood issues.
It is no secret that the government and the Ministry
ofDefense are concerned about their activities.
The security of the twoarrested persons is a matter of
serious concern for all thehuman rights groups. Torture and other
extra-legalpunishments are a common practice of the ‘lawenforcement’ agencies
in Sri Lanka and there aregenuine fears for the well-being of these men.
The two persons arrested inDecember from this same group,
Lalith Weeraraj and KuganMuruganathan remain missing. For details please see:
SRILANKA: The disappearances of Lalith Kumar Weeraju and KuganMurugan.
The Asian Human RightsCommission (AHRC) expresses concern
about the security ofthese two person and request the government to reveal
thereason for their arrest and their place of detention. TheAHRC further urges
the government to either release thesetwo men immediately or, if in fact they
have committed acrime, produce them before a court of law within the 24
hourperiod stipulated by law.
A Statement by theAsian Human Rights Commission
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