76 individuals including Christian and Catholic priests call for the release of Hejaaz

In a public petition signed by 75 individuals including Christian and Catholic priests, they have called upon members of the Human Rights Council and all members of the international community to urge the Sri Lankan government to release Attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah forthwith.

They also urge the international community to call upon the government to desist from deploying the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) against Hizbullah.

The public petition states the 26th August 2021 marks the 500th day of Hejaaz Hizbullah’s incarceration.

Among the Christian and Catholic priests signing the public petition were  Bishop Duleep de Chickera, the 14th Anglican Bishop of Colombo,  former General Secretary of National Christian Council Rev. Dr. Jayasiri T. Peiris, Rev. Fr. M. Sathivel, Rev. Andrew Devadason, Rev, Marc Billimoria, Rev. Fr. Nandana Manathunga, Rev. Fr. Oswald B. Firth, Rev. Fr. Terence Fernando and Rev. Maxwell Doss.

This public petition has also been signed by 23 civil society organizations and parties including Sri Lanka Young Journalists' Association, Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka Women's Action Network, Centre for Policy Alternatives and Nawa Sama Samaja Party (NSSP).

Former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Ambika Sathkunanathan, Attorney-at-law Bhavani Fonseka,  Dr Lionel Bopage, Convenor-Voice for Democracy in Sri Lanka, former Member of the Election Commission Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole were also signatories.

The public petition also urge members of the Human Rights Council, and the European Commission, to treat Hizbullah’s case, and other similar cases, as emblematic reflections of the egregious human rights abuses that take place under the PTA.

According to this petition, an indictment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act has now been served on Hizbullah. According to the indictment, Hizbullah is not accused of involvement in the Easter Sunday Attacks, but is only accused of making certain statements to students in contravention of these laws. The petition states only evidence for the indictment appears to be a statement by one child, in which Hizbullah is described as a person who owns a university in Batticaloa–a clear allusion to a prominent politician bearing the same name.

'He was recognised as a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International on 14th July 2021. We note that a Prisoner of Conscience is by definition a person who is imprisoned solely because of their conscientiously held beliefs, or for discriminatory reasons including relating to their ethnic or religious identity in the circumstances leading to their arrest. Therefore, the recognition of Hizbullah as a Prisoner of Conscience is an important development that reaffirms his innocence,' the public petition stated.

We the undersigned reiterate these demands, and call on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately and unconditionally release Hizbullah, and to drop all charges against him, the petition further stated.(Lakmal Sooriyagoda)