The All Ceylon Union of Muslim League Youth Fronts (ACUMLYF) requested the Centre to inquire into the arrest and detention of four Sri Lankan youths allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during the Indian general elections this year.
The four persons -- Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nafran, Mohammad Rashdeen and Mohammad Faris -- were taken into custody by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad on May 19 at the Ahmedabad airport.
ACUMLYF president Sham Nawaz told The Island that the Sri Lankan police have been asking the families of the detained whether the persons have returned home.
Nawaz requested the newly-elected National People’s Power (NPP) government to take up this issue with India and seek clarification on the current status of the investigation. He added that the previous Sri Lankan government, in no uncertain terms, cleared all four of any connection with ISIS or religious extremism.
ACUMLYF was given an opportunity to meet the then State Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya in June this year, but the ministry never bothered to get back to us, claimed Nawaz. "We are quite confident that they were on business visits. And there is absolutely no basis for accusations that they were involved in religious extremism,” Nawaz said.
Nawaz pointed out that though the Gujarat arrests may not receive attention during formal talks between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and PM Narendra Modi this week, the issue should not be forgotten under any circumstances.
“They must be either charged or released,” Nawaz said. He added that the Sri Lankan Muslim community should not be subject to targeted humiliation over their alleged allegiance to ISIS.
Nawaz pointed out that some media reports suggested that the four persons had arrived in India to cause chaos during the Indian general elections. He added that the conflicting claims surrounding the arrests give rise to doubts on whether the Sri Lankan authorities were allowed to contact the suspects.
Sri Lanka should represent the interests of the detained persons in terms of the Vienna Convention on consular assistance, he said.
Nawaz emphasised that the ACUMLYE took this issue up on its own despite the suspects not being affiliated with the organisation and the families of the detained not having sought their intervention.
Nawaz said that the continuing allegations regarding ISIS operations in Sri Lanka are concerning as it is impacting the economy and that there is a need for an independent local investigation. He reiterated that the Sri Lankan government is responsible for investigating the allegations made by Indian authorities.
Despite repeated declarations in Indian media that the four suspects were arrested for coordinating an 'attack' in Ahmedabad with a Pakistani handler linked to the ISIS, an investigation conducted by the Sri Lankan authorities contradicted the allegations, said Nawaz.
Nawaz said that the recently conducted presidential and general elections caused further delays. He also noted that the new government did not follow up on the issue and that he is reaching out to the Indian leaders on behalf of the arrested.
Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahai said that they had "discovered that Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, residing in Pakistan, had encouraged the four captured Sri Lankan nationals to commit acts of terrorism." The suspects were allegedly associated with the banned Sri Lankan radical militant outfit, National Thowheeth Jamaath (NJT), before joining ISIS. The NTJ has been claimed to have planned the 2019 Easter attacks.
Gujarat authorities arrested several other persons over their alleged involvement with the four Sri Lankan youths.
Nawaz stated that the government should set the record straight regarding the Gujarat police's allegation without further delay.