Sri Lanka President ready to cut detention to 48 hours, remove tattoo provision from crime bill

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the government is ready to reduce the detention period for suspects under the proposed Prevention of Organised Crime Bill from 72 hours to 48 hours.

The President made these remarks while addressing a special interfaith convention held today (November 5, 2026) to mark the first anniversary of the “Ratama Ekata” national anti-drug operation.

He also said the government is prepared to remove two controversial provisions in the bill, one relating to tattoos used to identify organised criminal groups and another concerning offences under the Excise Ordinance.

President Dissanayake said the government had introduced the bill in Parliament because new legislation was needed to combat organised crime.

He explained that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) had been used against organised criminals for many years, but he and others had long opposed that law and had personally suffered under it.

Therefore, he said they do not support using such a law to deal with organised crime.

The President said two groups are opposing the proposed legislation. According to him, one group consists of people who receive privileges and protection from organised criminals, while the other consists of groups advocating for human rights.

He said the government does not take the first group into consideration but is ready to hold discussions with human rights groups and consider their criticisms and proposals.

President Dissanayake stressed that the government has no intention of using the proposed law to suppress people or violate their rights.

He further explained that the bill is currently before the Supreme Court and that those who have challenged it have mainly raised three concerns.

The first concerns the proposed 72-hour detention period for suspects, which critics argue is too long.

“We are ready to amend it to 48 hours. We are ready to listen,” the President said.

The second issue concerns a provision relating to tattoos, which are used in some countries to identify members of organised criminal groups.

He said that if such a practice is not relevant to Sri Lanka, there is no need to include the provision in the legislation, and the government is prepared to remove it.

The third issue concerns a provision allowing offences under the Excise Ordinance to be dealt with under the proposed organised crime law.

President Dissanayake confirmed that the government is also ready to remove this provision so that offences under the Excise Ordinance would not be dealt with under the new law.

He reiterated that the government’s objective is to introduce an effective law to prevent organised crime while protecting the rights of the people.