On 8 May 2023, Lawyers for Lawyers has sent a letter to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka to express our concern about the ongoing trial of lawyer and human rights defender Hejaaz Hizbullah.
Hejaaz Hizbullah is a minority rights advocate and legal counsel for many Muslim victims of human rights violations.
On 14 April 2020, Mr. Hizbullah was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). He spent two years in pretrial detention before he was released on bail on 9 February 2022. The case against him, however, is still ongoing. According to information received by Lawyers for Lawyers no convincing information has been produced by the prosecution. Mr Hizbullah’s next hearing is scheduled for 12 May 2023.
Lawyers for Lawyers thus respectfully urges the Attorney General to:
- Drop all charges against Mr. Hizbullah and end to all acts of harassment against him, including at the judicial level;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that all lawyers in Sri Lanka are able to carry out their legitimate professional activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.
