Issuing a statement on Wednesday (17), the international watchdog stated that as a result, while some victims have suffered years of arbitrary detention and torture, others are persecuted even after the case against them is dropped.

“The law, widely known as the PTA, has provisions allowing for extended administrative detention, limited judicial oversight, and inadequate protections against torture.

In a 2022 speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the then foreign minister pledged a moratorium on its use, but under President Ranil Wickremesinghe, detentions under the PTA have continued.

Such is the chilling effect of the law that in September 2023 the International Monetary Fund found that “broad application of counter-terrorism rules” restricts civil society scrutiny of official corruption”, the statement highlighted