Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill risks enabling arbitrary detention, torture and other rights violations, and has called on the government to withdraw it.
The bill was submitted to Parliament on 20 October. HRW said it reproduces abusive provisions of existing counterterrorism laws, alongside the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill, which was submitted on 6 October.
“Sri Lanka’s organised crime bill would enable prolonged detention without adequate judicial oversight or evidence of criminal conduct, and could encourage torture by allowing convictions based on confessions obtained by the police,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia director.
According to HRW, the bill defines a “serious crime” as any offence punishable with at least four years in prison. An “organised criminal group” is defined as three or more people acting together to commit such a crime for a financial or other material benefit. Courts could weigh factors such as a person’s style of dress, hand signs, language or tattoos, or meetings with known members, when deciding whether that person belongs to a group.
HRW said the bill would let the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security issue detention orders of two months at a time, for up to a year, and that a magistrate would have no discretion to set an order aside. Bail could be granted only by the High Court, and suspects accused of a serious crime would be released only in exceptional circumstances.
The organisation also said confessions made to the police would be admissible in court. It said the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill, by contrast, would require confessions to be made to a magistrate.
HRW said the government did not appear to hold consultations while drafting the bill. It urged an open and inclusive consultation and called on the European Union to make clear that the bill would not meet Sri Lanka’s obligations under the GSP+ trade scheme.
Background
The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which dates from 1979, has long been criticised by local and international rights groups for allowing lengthy detention without trial. Successive governments have pledged to repeal it. HRW noted that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power alliance promised in its 2024 election manifesto to abolish all “oppressive” laws.
The European Union’s GSP+ scheme gives eligible developing countries tariff-free access to the EU market for many products, on condition that they implement international human rights and labour conventions. HRW said repealing the PTA is a key commitment Sri Lanka made to the EU under the scheme.
HRW also pointed to wider police powers in the bill. These include stopping and searching people and vehicles, making arrests on “reasonable suspicion” of a serious crime, and entering and searching premises without a warrant. It said police could obtain subscriber and call location data from telecommunications providers without a court order.
What it means
If Parliament passes the bill in its present form, HRW said, the powers could apply to a wide range of offences defined under other laws, not only to the kind of organised crime the bill is meant to target.
The bill would also make it an offence to publish the name of a crime victim or anything that could identify them, and would restrict media reporting of court proceedings without court permission, according to HRW. The organisation said these sections could curtail freedom of expression.
For exporters and workers in industries that sell to Europe, the question of how the EU judges the bill matters because GSP+ access depends on Sri Lanka’s compliance with its commitments.
