Rights group says Sri Lanka harassed, intimidated protesters

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — An international human rights group says Sri Lanka’s government is using emergency laws to harass and arbitrarily detain protesters who are seeking political reform and accountability amid the island country’s economic crisis. Human Rights Watch says the military has sought to curtail protests through intimidation, surveillance, and arbitrary arrests of demonstrators, activists, lawyers, and journalists since President Ranil Wickremesinghe took office last month. Wickremesinghe, who had ordered arrests of protesters, has said the protests started peacefully, but groups with political interests took over later and became violent. Human Rights Watch said Sri Lanka’s crackdown on protesters appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from the country’s urgent economic crisis.