Muslim woman files FR petition in Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 June 2007, 10:28 GMT]
A fundamental rights petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the release of a Muslim woman who is being detained in the office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Emergency Regulations for the last six months, legal sources in Trincomalee said. The petitioner Abdul Lattif Sithy Nafeeka of Lingkanakar in Trincomalee and a mother of two children was arrested in January this year.

Senior counsel and a human rights activist Rev.Fr.V.Yoheswaran Friday filed the petition on behalf of the petitioner, legal sources said.

The petitioner states that a team of CID officials from Colombo visited her house at Lingkanakar and inquired about a Muslim youth boarded in her house earlier. Thereafter the CID took her to Colombo for further investigation.

Sithy Naffeeka is being detained in the CID office for the last six months without being produced in courts and without any charges.

She further states her husband has abandoned her with her two children and she is the breadwinner of the family by selling short-eats to students of the area.

The petitioner begs the court to declare that her arrest and detention are illegal, her fundamental rights have been violated, and to order her immediate release with compensation.