Petition filed against proposed Anti-Terrorism BillNewsCentre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, filed a Petition in the Supreme Court yesterday challenging the Constitutionality of the Bill titled “Anti-Terrorism”. The Bill was published in the Gazette on the 15th of September 2023 but was only tabled in the Parliament [the first reading of the Bill] on the 10th of January 2024. CPA has raised concerns over the vague definitions in the Bill which may be a tool for abuse. "CPA argues that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill must be looked at through the lens of the legacy of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which has been a source of terror over the past decades. Considering the abuse that minorities, journalists, and dissenters have faced under the PTA, any new counter-terror law must contain sufficient checks and balances, to prevent similar abuses from taking place in the future."

Source: Sunday Times January 20, 2024 02:24 UTC