HRW calls for withdrawal of Organized Crime Bill

Says it violates rights standards

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s proposed Prevention of Organized Crimes Bill could enable arbitrary detention, torture and other human rights violations by granting sweeping powers to law enforcement with inadequate judicial safeguards, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Thursday (29).

The international rights organization said the Bill, submitted to Parliament on October 20, 2026, reproduces several abusive provisions of existing counterterrorism legislation and warned that the proposed law, together with the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill submitted on October 6, could perpetuate abuses the government had pledged to end.

HRW said the two Bills risk creating parallel legal frameworks outside ordinary criminal law, undermining due process and fundamental rights.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance pledged in its 2024 election manifesto to repeal oppressive laws and protect civil rights, including through the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

“Sri Lanka’s organized crime bill would enable prolonged detention without adequate judicial oversight or evidence of criminal conduct, and could encourage torture by allowing convictions based on confessions obtained by the police,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia director.

She warned that adopting the legislation in its current form could lead to serious rights violations similar to those associated with previous laws containing extensive detention and enforcement powers.

Although the Bill aims to combat organized crime and strengthen international law enforcement cooperation, HRW said it fails to meet international standards of legal precision and certainty, despite being presented as giving effect to the 2003 United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The proposed legislation defines a “serious crime” as an offence punishable by at least four years’ imprisonment and brings a wide range of offences under its provisions. It defines an “organized criminal group” as three or more people acting together to commit serious crimes for financial or other material benefit.

HRW raised concerns over provisions allowing courts to consider factors such as meetings with known group members, clothing, hand signs, language, tattoos, associations and frequent visits to premises linked to a group when determining membership.

The organization warned that such criteria could criminalize association rather than proven criminal conduct, exposing individuals to detention without sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

The Bill would allow the secretary to the Ministry of Public Security to issue detention orders for periods of up to two months at a time, for a maximum of one year. HRW said the provisions do not give magistrates discretion to set aside such orders.

Bail would be available only through the High Court, with suspects accused of serious crimes eligible for release only under exceptional circumstances.

HRW also criticized the Bill’s provisions allowing confessions made to police to be admitted as evidence in court, warning that this could encourage coercion, ill-treatment and torture.

The organization noted that the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill instead requires confessions to be made before a magistrate, highlighting what it described as a continuation of abusive practices under the organized crime legislation.

The Bill also grants police extensive surveillance powers, including the interception and recording of communications, forensic extraction of data from electronic devices and access to information held by telecommunications companies and online service providers through court orders.

However, police could obtain certain subscriber identity, call and mobile tower-location information from telecommunications, satellite and digital service providers without a court order, HRW said, warning that these powers could infringe privacy and freedom of assembly, particularly given Sri Lanka’s history of surveillance targeting human rights defenders and families of victims of rights violations.

The proposed law also raises concerns about freedom of expression, HRW said, warning it would criminalize publishing the name or other identifying information of a crime victim and restrict media reporting of court proceedings without judicial permission.

Additional provisions would empower police to stop and search individuals and vehicles, make arrests, seize relevant items and enter and search premises without a warrant on the basis of reasonable suspicion of a serious crime.

HRW said the breadth of these powers, combined with limited judicial oversight, could leave the legislation open to abuse.

The rights body also warned that the Bill could undermine Sri Lanka’s human rights commitments under the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade program, under which the country receives preferential access to the EU market.

Repealing the PTA was a key commitment made by Sri Lanka in connection with its GSP+ obligations, HRW said, adding that retaining similar provisions in the proposed organized crime legislation could further weaken compliance with international human rights standards.

HRW said the government did not appear to have conducted consultations during the drafting process and called for the Bill to be withdrawn and subjected to genuine, open and inclusive public consultation.

It urged the government to ensure that any replacement legislation contains robust safeguards against arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, while guaranteeing due process and effective judicial oversight.

“Every government has a duty to combat organised crime but needs to do so in compliance with international human rights standards,” Pearson said.

She also called on the European Union to make clear that the proposed legislation would not meet Sri Lanka’s obligations under the GSP+ program.

–ENCL