A/HRC/43/48/Add.2 A. Anti-Muslim hate propaganda 23. The aftermath of the Easter bombings has seen an intensification of discrimination, hostility and violence against Muslim communities, boycotts of Muslim businesses, vigilante attacks on Muslim women’s dress codes and media hate campaigns. Despite the rejection of the extremist ideology of those involved in the attacks by Muslim political, religious and civil society leaders, members of the Muslim community have been subjected to widespread stigmatization and racist attacks. Hatred that appears to ride on conspiracy theories about Muslims and racist stereotypes has raised fears among the Muslim community, who fear for their safety and for their future in the country. 24. After the Easter bombings, 2,289 people (mostly Muslims) were reportedly arrested under emergency regulations on suspicion of involvement with terrorism and subsequently charged under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (No. 48 of 1979) or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (No. 56 of 2007). As of July 2019, 1,655 had been granted bail, 423 had been remanded and 211 were in detention. Families of Muslims arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act claimed that they had had a hard time securing legal representation in their areas and that they had undergone significant financial hardship to hire lawyers from other areas. Most Muslim lawyers have been reluctant to appear for those arrestees in fear of reprisals. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur received reports that non-Muslim lawyers often refused to defend those detained due to “extraneous considerations”. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, in its communication to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, expressed concern over the refusal of lawyers to appear in those cases due to such considerations. 25. Mosques and madrasas across the country were raided by security forces and many arrests were made. Mosques have also been searched by security forces with little or no respect paid to religious practices, including by taking sniffer dogs (considered impure by Muslims) into mosques and confiscating Qur’anic and other Islamic texts that are mainly in Arabic and therefore deemed “radical” material. The army and police also allowed the media to accompany them on the searches, which were allegedly often misreported and sensationalized. Several mosques have also come under scrutiny by local vigilante groups. Sections of the local media, both print and electronic, continued to repeat anti-Muslim narratives, without carrying rebuttals or clarifications from individuals or groups in the targeted community. 26. During and at the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, in 2019, many mosques had to conduct prayers in a discreet manner in fear of attacks. Hundreds of Muslim-owned places of worship, shops and houses were destroyed in a series of attacks that took place between 12 and 14 May in Kurunegala District and in other areas. 17 The Government imposed a curfew to bring the situation under control, but serious concerns were raised after footage and eyewitness accounts emerged of Sri Lankan security forces colluding with mobs and not acting to prevent or stop the violence. 27. As the Easter bombings were perpetrated by Islamic terrorists, this has become the pretext for anti-Muslim groups to intensify incitement to hatred and violence against Muslim communities. The lack of response from the authorities against this violence appears to empower the potential perpetrators to continue with their acts of hate. 28. Such anti-Muslim attacks, however, are not new.18 In 2013, the Masjid Deenul Islam, a Muslim prayer centre in Grandpass, a suburb of Colombo, was attacked during Maghrib, or sunset prayers, by mobs reportedly led by Buddhist monks. Unable to contain the violence, the police imposed a curfew in the area. Among the most atrocious anti-Muslim violence that has taken place in recent years occurred during the Aluthgama riots in 2014, 19 which broke out after the Bodu Bala Sena held a rally that expressed strong anti-Muslim sentiment. Four people were reportedly killed and about 80 were seriously injured. Scores of Muslim-owned homes and shops were set ablaze, looted or destroyed during several days of mob attacks, during which the police and army allegedly stood by watching. The 17 18 19 6 See communication LKA 3/2019. Communications referenced in the present report are available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TmSearch/Results. See, for example, www.csw.org.uk/2018/10/24/report/4144/article.htm. See communication LKA 6/2014.