The recent release of 29-year-old Tamil political prisoner Kabilan shows that the Prevention of Terrorism Act has been using to imprison innocents for years without charges, Father M. Sakthivel, Convener of National Movement for the Release of Political Prisoners, said in a press statement.
“The people who show them as the guardians of country’s judicial law failed in their attempt to convict Kabilan, and he was released after twelve years. The fact is that justice has been distanced for those arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. That is why political prisoners are languishing in prison for decades with uncertainty about future.”
Father M. Sakthivel questioned, “Will those who snatched, mutilated the life of Kabilan and other political prisoners like him get punished?”
Father M. Sakthivel emphasised that to ensure justice to the victims; the UN Human Rights Council should pave the way for the release of political prisoners by fully repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
He further said that the UN should not allow any amendment to the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
