Rights group slams Lanka’s ‘de-radicalisation’ law

Sri Lanka faced renewed criticism yesterday over a new "de-radicalisation" law which rights groups see as another weapon targeting dissidents and minorities in the fractured nation. New York-based Human Rights Watch said new regulations expanded the "draconian and abusive" Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) -- which a previous government promised to scrap but never did. On Friday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced new rules under the PTA allowing the detention of anyone suspected of causing "acts of violence or religious, racial or communal disharmony". HRW said Colombo should immediately withdraw the rules, which the government said was aimed at the "de-radicalisation" of religious extremists.