The cases, pending or filed prior to 2016 under the Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), will be concluded before the end of this year, Sri Lankan Justice Minister Ali Sabry said.
In an interview with Daily Mirror, the Minister said the Chief Justice had sent a circular saying all cases pending and filed prior to 2016 should be concluded before the end of this year.
“Those awaiting trial under the PTA should be charged. If there are no charges, they should be released. I cannot comment on specific cases,” he said. He said the work on reforming the PTA is now underway.
It is to be noted that many Tamil community members have been held under PTA for a prolonged time without any proper legal proceedings.
