A protest was held outside the slaveisland police station demanding the release of a 20-year-old Muslim man who was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for allegedly pasting a sticker condemning Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip.
The arrested youth, who worked as a salesman at a shop in a popular shopping mall . He was arrested on March 22 after CCTV footage showed him pasting the sticker. Protesters say he is currently being held under a detention order by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).
They say the sticker was a peaceful expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and was not an act of terrorism. The protesters also point out that this arrest is an obstacle to freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, lawyer Hejaz Hizbullah says that Miflal Maulavi, who organized this protest yesterday, has been summoned to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and his house has been searched.
Meanwhile, the Police Media Unit had issued a statement expressing its views on the arrest of the young man. The statement stated that the young man was not arrested simply for pasting a sticker but based on information received that he was a hard-line person. The statement is published below.
