A Fundamental Rights (FR) petition challenging the arrest and detention of Tamil artiste Sangeethan Ganeshkumar under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is expected to be filed before the Supreme Court on Monday (8), MP and President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran told The Sunday Morning.
The move comes days after the 24-year-old rapper was arrested and remanded over allegations that videos he uploaded to social media promoted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a proscribed organisation in Sri Lanka.
Ganeshkumar, a resident of Uthayanagar in Kilinochchi, was arrested on Tuesday (2) following an investigation by the Jaffna Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau.
According to Police, the artiste had performed at a musical event held in Navatkuli, Chavakachcheri on 31 May and subsequently edited and uploaded videos of four songs from the performance to his TikTok account.
The Police alleged that the edited videos, which included additional voice recordings, portrayed messages supportive of or glorifying the LTTE.
He was later arrested by officers attached to the District Crime Prevention Division and handed over to the Chavakachcheri Police Station.
Police produced Ganeshkumar before the Chavakachcheri Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (3) and filed charges under Section 3(1)(g) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No.48 of 1979. The court ordered that he be remanded until 17 June while investigations continue.
Appearing on behalf of the artiste before the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court, the defence counsel challenged the allegation that his client had attempted to revive or promote the LTTE through his music.
According to the lawyer who spoke to the media after the court proceedings, neither the lyrics nor the visual content of the songs contained references to the organisation, its symbols, or its leadership.
“The song he performed does not contain the words ‘Liberation Tigers’. It does not praise the Liberation Tigers, nor does it contain the symbols or emblems of the organisation, or the name of its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran,” counsel submitted before court.
The lawyer also addressed references in the song to animals often associated with ethnic identities, arguing that these were intended as cultural metaphors rather than political messaging.
Questioning the legal basis for the charges, the lawyer further submitted that it was difficult to understand how the artiste could be accused of reviving the LTTE when the organisation itself was never mentioned in the song.
The case has once again drawn attention to Sri Lanka’s draconian PTA, which has faced sustained criticism from the United Nations, international human rights organisations, and local civil society groups for decades.
Critics have long argued that the law permits prolonged detention without adequate judicial oversight and has been disproportionately used against minority communities, activists, and political dissidents. Successive governments including the National People’s Power (NPP) have pledged reforms to the legislation, but the act still remains in force.