The Protection of the State from Terrorism (PSTA) Bill tabled in Parliament contains major deviations from what was agreed by the committee appointed to consider the proposed legislation, particularly regarding bail provisions and the process for extending detention, former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Saliya Pieris, PC, has claimed.
In a social media post, Pieris said he served on the committee as a nominee of the BASL and had observed the changes after examining the Bill presented to Parliament.
He said the committee had not been informed of the changes, the reasons behind them or who had caused them to be introduced without consulting its members.
Pieris said he had written to the Chairman of the committee yesterday, outlining the areas in which the Bill had deviated from the committee’s report.
According to Pieris, the committee had agreed on several provisions, including limiting the period of detention and allowing Magistrates to grant bail where there was no material against a suspect.
However, he said he had disagreed with the majority report on three areas — the definition of terrorism, administrative detention and the power to proscribe organisations.
Pieris said he considered the proposed definition of terrorism too broad and liable to abuse by authorities. He also argued that administrative detention should be under the authority of judicial officers rather than the Secretary to a Ministry, while the power to proscribe organisations should also rest with a judicial authority.
The committee included representatives of the Attorney General’s Department, Justice Ministry, Police and armed forces, as well as several President’s Counsel, Attorneys-at-Law and a Member of Parliament, he said.
Warning of the consequences if the Bill is enacted in its present form, Pieris claimed prolonged detention would continue under the PSTA and Magistrates would be compelled to remand suspects produced under the law even where there was no material against them.
He further warned that this could result in the PSTA being abused by politicians, Police and security authorities in a manner similar to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which the proposed legislation seeks to replace. (Newswire)
