Amnesty International has urged the Sri Lankan government to immediately withdraw the proposed Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill, warning that the legislation could grant sweeping powers to law enforcement authorities and threaten fundamental human rights.
In a statement issued on Tuesday (27), the international human rights organisation described the proposed Bill as one of the most alarming pieces of legislation introduced by the National People’s Power (NPP) government.
Amnesty warned that the proposed law could permit suspects to be detained for up to two years before trial, allow certain confessions made to senior police officers to be admitted as evidence, and impose restrictions on media reporting of court proceedings.
The organisation also raised concerns about provisions that would allow police to conduct searches without warrants and access personal information, including telephone records, subscriber identities and device location data, without a court order.
“This extraordinary bill is the most alarming in a string of repressive laws proposed by the National People’s Power (NPP) government. It reintroduces most of the very worst elements of the PTA and applies them to a wide range of offences,” said Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director.
The organisation cautioned that the proposed legislation could recreate conditions that previously enabled arbitrary detention, torture and other human rights violations under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
According to Amnesty, the Bill would allow suspects to be held for up to one year before being charged, followed by an additional year in pretrial detention.
The organisation also expressed concern over provisions that would allow courts to consider factors such as a person’s clothing, tattoos, hand signs, language, associations and places visited when assessing whether they belong to an organised criminal group.
Amnesty warned that these provisions could lead to discriminatory profiling and undermine the right to a fair trial.
Another major concern is a provision allowing confessions made to police officers above the rank of Assistant Superintendent to be admitted as evidence in court. The organisation said the proposed law would also place the burden on accused persons to prove that they had been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
The Bill further proposes penalties for individuals who fail to provide information requested by police, including imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of Rs. 200,000.
Amnesty also warned that granting authorities access to telecommunications and digital records without judicial oversight could expose journalists’ confidential sources, lawyers’ communications and individuals organising lawful protests to surveillance.
“Sri Lanka is following a dangerous path by introducing legislation that weakens safeguards against torture and other ill-treatment and that puts fair trial guarantees at risk, repeating the mistakes of the PTA. This must stop,” Singh said.
Amnesty called on the government to withdraw the Bill in its entirety and launch meaningful public consultations to develop measures to combat organised crime while safeguarding fundamental rights.
Similar concerns have been raised by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, both of which have called for the withdrawal of the proposed legislation.
The government, however, has maintained that the Bill is intended to strengthen efforts to combat organised criminal networks and facilitate international cooperation against serious crime.
The Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill was gazetted on October 6 and presented to Parliament on October 20. It remains at the first-reading stage.
