Sri Lanka urged to withdraw bill allowing broad detentions

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — An international human rights group is urging Sri Lanka’s government to withdraw draft legislation that would create military-run rehabilitation centers, saying it would give authorities broad powers to detain people without charge and place them at risk of abuse. Rights activists and opposition lawmakers have strongly criticized the bill, saying it aims to suppress people seeking political reform and accountability during the country’s unprecedented economic crisis. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill would allow compulsory detention in “rehabilitation centers” of “drug dependent persons, ex-combatants, members of violent extremist groups and any other group of persons.”