“Seventeen party leaders including SJB’s Sajith Premadasa, UNP’s Ranil Wickremesinghe and NPP’s Namal Rajapakse have issued a statement on the grave situation relating to security for lawyers and the public.”

“The statement had been sent to several international professional organisations including the International Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, International Commission of Jurists, International Association of Young Lawyers, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, the World Organisation against Torture, Frontline Defenders, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.”

“There is now a recurring pattern of shootings and killings, with the use of sophisticated firearms, with more than 60 lives lost last year and 9 in the New Year up to now.”

“An incident which occurred in broad daylight on 13 February 2026, in the immediate vicinity of a high-security zone, claimed the lives of Attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife.”

“The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, resorting to an extraordinary course of action after an interval of 14 years, convened a meeting of the entire membership of the Association, comprising more than 3,500 attorneys-at-law, and unanimously resolved at that meeting that all members of the profession should refrain from engaging in their professional work throughout the country on Monday, 16 February.”

“The result of this decision was that all courts, from the Supreme Court to Magistrates Courts in all parts of the country, were closed on that day, and thousands of cases scheduled for hearing had to be postponed.”

“Within an hour of this killing, there were statements attributed to the police that the victim of the murder had appeared professionally for a criminal well known for drug trafficking, and that the motive for the killing arose from criminal activity on the part of his clients.”

“There is clear evidence of pressure brought to bear on the Attorney-General, which has the effect of politicising exercise of the prosecutorial function, with consequent detriment to perceived fairness of the criminal justice process.”

“Rising public discontent across the spectrum is sought to be suppressed by the provisions of a proposed anti-terrorism law which, in its present form, strikes at the very root of cherished democratic institutions and values in the country, and demonstrably infringes core obligations undertaken by Sri Lanka in international instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

“The extreme politicisation of the police force, under the leadership of an Inspector-General who has jettisoned even the appearance of detachment and objectivity, militates seriously against professionalism and impartiality in respect of criminal investigations, including the inquiry into the recent killing of a member of the legal profession.”

“The Government is clearly in breach of its duty to take administrative and, if necessary, legislative measures to give effect to Article 9(4) of the Luxembourg Convention, adopted by the Council of Europe, for the protection of lawyers.”

“The Commonwealth Association on 9 July 2016 emphatically endorsed the Convention by the assertion that “If the lawyer is not protected, then no one is protected.””

“The Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, has failed dismally in his duty to secure the safety of citizens and to forestall the increasingly manifest deterioration of law and order in Sri Lanka.”