Nearly a year after her arrest, Balendran Jeyakumari of Kilinochchi — an activist at the forefront of a campaign against involuntary disappearances — was released by a magistrate court here on Tuesday.
Human rights activists had been demanding her release, pointing out that she was being detained without charges. About a year ago, Ms. Jeyakumari (50) was detained under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on charges of harbouring a criminal. Currently under bail orders, Jeyakumari has been prohibited from leaving the country by the Colombo Additional Magistrate.
Activists had earlier accused the government of having detained Ms. Jeyakumari fearing she would testify to international groups working on the issue of disappearances. Fifty year old Ms. Jeyakumari has been campaigning on the issue of disappearances ever since her son went missing during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s war.
