Sri Lanka police fire tear gas at student protest demanding activist release

Sri Lankan authorities have deployed tear gas and water cannons against hundreds of students protesting in the capital, demanding the release of individuals arrested during anti-government demonstrations last year. The protesters argue that the continued imprisonment of numerous students and activists constitutes political persecution.

In 2021, Sri Lanka experienced widespread, months-long protests triggered by the nation’s most severe economic crisis to date. These mass demonstrations in the South Asian island nation, with a population of 22 million, ultimately led to the resignation and temporary departure of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Al Jazeera correspondent Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the outskirts of Colombo, described the scene as authorities fired “volleys of tear gas canisters and water cannons” at the students. She commented that the government’s response was “going way over the top” in an effort to suppress the protests.

“University students have said that this kind of repression by the government is not going to stop them and silence them,” Fernandez reported. “They are saying the government’s campaign is to repress people and silence their voices, to stop the university movement which was involved in the anti-government movement we saw last year and led to a change in the government.”

During her live broadcast, both Fernandez and the Al Jazeera cameraperson were struck by a water cannon.

Earlier this year, a coalition of seven human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called on Sri Lanka to release a prominent student activist. They also expressed concerns over an anti-terrorism law that routinely denied bail to those arrested during the previous year’s protests.