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AG says no objection to granting bail to Hejaaz Hizbullah

20 Jan 2022

By Our Court Reporter Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) Sudarshana de Silva, appearing for the Attorney General (AG), had told the Court of Appeal yesterday (20) that he has no objection to the bail application made with the High Court on behalf of Attorney-at-Law Hejaaz Hizbullah, who was arrested and remanded under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The DSG said there was no objection towards granting bail when the revision application filed by counsel Hizbullah was taken up at the Court of Appeal in the presence of Justices Menaka Wijesundara and Neil Iddawela. The DSG told the Court of Appeal that the case filed by the AG under the PTA against Hizbullah at the Puttalam High Court will be taken up on 28 January and if a request for bail is made, the AG will not object to it. United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights (HR) defenders Mary Lawlor stated in September 2021 that they believe that the human rights-related work of lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, who is presently detained over his alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday terror attacks, has been erroneously conflated with terrorism. “We expressed concern on the reported irregularities in due process, partly facilitated by the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA), which allowed Hizbullah to be held without charge for almost a year with severely restricted access to lawyers. We believe that his previous human rights work and the practice of his legal profession may have been wrongly conflated with terrorism. We reiterated our recommendation to review the PTA to bring it in line with international human rights standards,” Lawlor said in an online statement. Hizbullah was charged in March 2021, under the PTA for “inciting communal disharmony”.


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