Colombo, Oct 13 (PTI) Tamils in Sri Lanka's northern cityof Jaffna today held demonstrations demanding the release ofpolitical prisoners held under the prevention of terrorism lawsince the end to the armed conflict with the LTTE in May 2009.
The protesters gathered opposite to the Governor'sSecretariat holding placards which read, 'Remove the draconianPrevention of Terrorism Act', 'Release all political prisonerswithout any condition'.
A strike was observed in several parts in the North toback the demand for the release of political prisoners.
R Sampanthan, who is the leader of the Tamil NationalAlliance (TNA), in a letter to President Maithripala Sirisenaalso demanded the release of Tamil political prisoners.
"These persons are held in custody under the Preventionof Terrorism (PTA) law irrespective of whether they have beenconvicted, have been charged, or have not yet been charged,"he wrote in the letter.
"The only evidence available against most of thesepersons are confessions extracted from them against their willunder the Prevention of Terrorism Law which would beinadmissible against them in normal Court of Law. Many of thecases have been postponed because the Prosecution is not readyto proceed with the Cases," the letter said.
Sri Lanka has come under increasing internationalpressure to repeal the PTA enacted in 1979 after Tamilsstarted a bloody campaign for a separate homeland. The three-decades-old campaign ended with the military victory over theLTTE in 2009.
The PTA has been criticised by Tamil and rights activistsas it allows indefinite detention of people without charges.
During the armed campaign by the Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE), many activists of the rebel outfit wereheld under the PTA. PTI CorrNSA.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.