The Sri Lankan government's draft anti-terrorism act must be removed, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), since it will give the government additional authority to systematically violate fundamental human rights.
The rights group urged the government to hold negotiations to ensure that any counterterrorism laws developed are compliant with global human rights standards.
HRW asserted that the new bill would instead broaden the definition of terrorism to include crimes like property damage, theft, or robbery and impose restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and speech, in spite of the Sri Lankan government's promises to enact an improved law in response to domestic and international criticism of abuses under the country's current counterterrorism legislation.
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