The Sri Lankan police on Sunday arrested prominent human rights activist Ruki Fernando and Catholic priest Father Praveen in Kilinochchi under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. They were allegedly engaged in a fact-finding exercise in the former war zone.
Media reports said Mr. Fernando was a consultant for THE INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre, and the Rights Now Collective for Democracy.
The two were transferred to Vavuniya and later brought to Colombo for further investigation.
The arrests come days after the detention of Balendra Jeyakumari, a resident of Tharmapuram at Kilinochchi, and her 13-year-old daughter Vidushika. The mother and the daughter, arrested on the charge of aiding a suspect, have been active at rallies organised by relatives of missing persons. One of Ms. Jeyakumari’s sons reportedly went missing in 2009, during the final days of the civil war.
