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Hejaaz walks free

09 Feb 2022

Human rights lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, who has been held under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 (PTA) for around 22 months, today walked free after being released on bail. The Court of Appeal on Monday (7) granted bail to Hizbullah. The petition filed at the Court of Appeal was heard before Justices Menaka Wijesundera and Neil Iddawala yesterday, where they directed the relevant court (the Puttalam HC) to grant bail to Hizbullah. Issuing the order, the Court of Appeal noted that while it is the responsibility of the legislature/Parliament to amend the draconian elements of laws combating terrorism, it is up to the Judiciary to interpret those elements in the interests of justice. Hizbullah, who was arrested in April 2020, was charged almost a year later, under Section 2(1)(h) of the PTA (by words either spoken or intended to be read or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise causes or intends to cause the commission of acts of violence or religious, racial, or communal disharmony or feelings of ill-will or hostility between different communities or racial or religious groups) and Section 3(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act (incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence). He was first arrested over alleged links to the Easter Sunday terror attacks, although evidence of terror-related activity was never produced. 


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