The Story of a Young Man Held for 9 Months Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act

Reported by Rekha Nilukshi Herath

Between January 2023 and April 2024, the organization Human Rights Watch stated in a letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 25 November 2024 that 46 people were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

According to an investigation by human rights activist Ruki Fernando , after President Dissanayake took office, 12 more individuals were arrested under the PTA.

In Jaffna’s Chunnakam area, Manoharan Gajendran was arrested under the PTA because his Facebook account contained photos and videos of Velupillai Prabhakaran.

In Maradana, Kalum Harsha was arrested on 3 November 2024 under the PTA and later released.

In Galle’s Kiribathgoda area, Jagath Chathuranga was arrested on 30 November 2024 under the PTA.

On 1 December 2024, Kalum Harsha Jayasumana was arrested under the PTA. Together with Bilal Muhammad, they received 90-day remand orders following reports of potential attacks targeting Israel’s population centers in Sri Lanka.

Later, Mohammad Roshid, a 20-year-old, was arrested under the PTA on suspicion of “an incendiary act” during an anti-Israel rally. He too was kept on a 90-day remand but was granted bail by the Attanagalla court on 7 April 2025.

Another case came to light last week in the newspaper: Mohammad Suhail Shuweid, a 21 year-old, was arrested on 23 October 2024 near the Chabbot Club in Dehiwala. He had no national ID card on him while seeking rental accommodation in Dehiwala. The Dehiwala police held him, then produced him in court the next day and released him. However, later that same night, several police officers visited his home in Mawanella and took him into custody again he remained imprisoned for nine months under the PTA before the case was reported last week.

Mr. Suhail had come to Colombo from Dehiwala to attend a course and find work. On 23 October, because he had no ID while viewing a room, the Dehiwala police arrested him and informed his father, Mohammad Rifai. His father brought Suhail’s ID to the station and was able to secure his release via the Galle magistrate’s court on 24 October. After regaining freedom, Suhail and his father returned to Mawanella. But police officers had gone to their home in the evening and stated they needed to take Suhail back for further questioning. They informed them that Suhail would be brought the next morning to Mawanella police.

Around 11:23 PM, Suhail was taken again from the police station. He was detained at Dehiwala police for three days. His parents visited daily, inquiring when he would be released—no dates were given. On Saturday, he was hurried to court, but the acting magistrate denied bail and remanded him. He was presented again in court the next day before a magistrate who noted there was no reason for re-arrest. The police responded that there were new concerns. Suhail’s mother could not understand the charges, but the PTA case dragged on for many months.

Later, his family received the “B report” (initial police briefing), which stated Suhail had been arrested on 23 October and had been released but then “arrested again on 25 October near Dehiwala Chabbot Club.” CCTV evidence showed Suhail returning home on the night of the 24th, when police came in a jeep and took him away. The magistrate questioned: why was Suhail re-arrested after being released? Police claimed they handed Suhail’s phone to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The magistrate demanded to know how that was done without court permission, and the police provided some letter in response.

Mr. Rifai said the family is ordinary: he works in a small shop, and they live with their two children. They have no money to pay legal fees, and their home is mortgaged. The long legal battle has pushed them into debt.

Each time they visited Suhail, he asked, “Why did you put me in jail, Dad? I’ve done nothing wrong.” He is mentally fragile, has been on medication since childhood, and the parole officers say there’s no provision for his medicine in prison. “He’s a studious child,” said his father.

According to B 48841/24 filed in Galle Magistrate’s Court on 25 October 2024, Dehiwala Station Inspector Anuradha Herath and others had seen a “suspicious person” near a new construction site on the coastal road and reportedly re-arrested Suhail. Police claimed the Inspector confirmed this via phone with the Inspector in Mawanella. The court needs to verify these allegations—whether Suhail was indeed arrested in Mawanella on the night of the 24th after being summoned via phone by the Dehiwala Inspector to bring Suhail back with them in the jeep (CBM 1760).