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UN finds Lankan poet’s imprisonment a violation of international HR law

05 May 2022

  • UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention responds to Freedom Now’s petition on Ahnaf Jazeem
  • Freedom Now says clear violation of free expression
Responding to a petition filed by Freedom Now, an organisation working against arbitrary detention, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found that the Government of Sri Lanka violated international human rights (HR) law in connection with the imprisonment of poet Ahnaf Jazeem. Jazeem was arrested in May 2020, under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 (PTA). He was initially arrested in connection to his Tamil language poetry anthology, titled Navarasam (Nine Emotions), which the authorities have alleged promotes “extremist” ideology. Jazeem was granted bail on 15 December 2021, after over a year in prison. “Responding to a legal petition filed by Freedom Now, the UN concluded that Jazeem was prosecuted under a law that is so broad that it could result in charges being brought against individuals who merely exercised their rights under international law,” Freedom Now said in a press release issued in this regard yesterday (5). Freedom Now Legal Officer Adam Lhedmat has welcomed the decision by the UN and noted that although Jazeen has now been released, he spent over two years in pre-trial detention, terming it a “clear violation of his freedom of expression”. “Moreover, he still faces a lengthy prison term for his poetry. We call on the Sri Lankan Government to comply with the decision and ensure that Jazeem faces no further judicial harassment,” Lhedmat has urged. “As part of the investigation, the Government commissioned a translation of Jazeem’s poetry as only approximately 30% of the population speaks Tamil. Despite an expert analysis, which has been criticised by Tamil language experts, the Government has failed to demonstrate how the poetry anthology promotes violence. To the contrary, the book includes poems condemning the Islamic State, declaring that the terrorist organisation has nothing to do with Islam,” Freedom Now added.  


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