The Puttalam High Court (HC) yesterday (12) ordered the acquittal of Ahnaf Jazeem, a teacher and poet who had been detained for more than one and a half years under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) on allegations of propagating extremist ideologies.
Jazeem was arrested in May 2020, on allegations of extremism related to his poetry book Navarasam, and was detained under the PTA on charges of promoting extremism and violence among children, and promoting extremism through his literary work. He was indicted in the Puttalam HC in November, 2020, for delivering extremist speeches to students at the School of Excellence in Puttalam where he engaged in teaching.
When the relevant case was taken up before the Puttalam HC yesterday, the Attorney General’s (AG) Department led the evidence of five witnesses including the principal of the said School, and four students. However, no charge against Jazeem could be established through their evidence, and the AG’s Department concluded leading the evidence.
The attorney who appeared for Jazeem then requested the Court to acquit Jazeem from the case, given that the prosecution had failed to establish any of the charges against him under the PTA. Considering the request, the HC Judge stated that the AG’s Department had failed to establish the charges that they had filed against Jazeem, and ordered his acquittal without hearing the evidence of the accused party.
After nearly 19 months of detention under the PTA on the said charges, Jazeem was granted bail in December 2021, under strict conditions. His arrest and prolonged detention have seen great criticism from several parties including local and international human rights organisations.
