Description

On the 23rd of January, while families of the disappeared gathered to protest President Sirisena’s visit to Mullaitivu, men claiming to be intelligence officers reportedly threatened them with arrest if they continued their protest. Additionally, intelligence officers and security forces remained nearby photographing families, whose grievances relate to the still unrealized promises of the Sirisena government regarding justice for their loved ones who disappeared at various stages of the civil war and its aftermath.

In Kilinochchi, the mothers of the disappeared were reported to have been stopped from
demonstrating close to where the President was due to visit.