Supreme Court Shoots Down De-Radicalization Bill
Source: Economy Next
October 21 2022
The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has determined that a controversial bill rehabilitation bureau bill violates the constitution, reports the Economy Next news website (Colombo).
On Thursday, lawmakers were notified of the decision.
The bill, brought forth last month by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, would have granted the state the authority to arbitrarily detain suspects for up to two years for “deradicalization,” reported Agence France-Presse.
The bill specified no form of judicial relief for those apprehended and sent to “deradicalization and rehabilitation.”
Opposition lawmakers, activists and human-rights lawyers had questioned the legality of the bill and expressed concern that it could be used against protesters.
Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Abeywardena said that after the Supreme Court’s decision, the bill could only be passed in a national referendum.
Parliamentary officials said the legislation was now likely to be scrapped.