(New York) – The Sri Lankan government’s Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill , submitted to parliament on October 20, 2026, risks enabling arbitrary detention, torture, and other rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today. The proposed law, alongside the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill submitted on October 6, reproduces abusive provisions in existing counterterrorism laws that would allow continuing abuses that the government had pledged to end.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power alliance pledged in its 2024 election manifesto to abolish all “oppressive” laws and ensure “civil rights of people in all parts of the country.” In particular, the Dissanayake government—like its predecessors—pledged to repeal the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).…