wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Sri Lanka: arrested ecumenical official must be freed, WCC says

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 22/04/2009 16:35:55

WCC DEMANDS RELEASE OF SRI LANKAN ECUMENICAL OFFICIAL

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia  has urged the government of Sri Lanka to immediately release from  detention Shanta Fernando, an ecumenical official who has been under  arrest for nearly a month.

In a 21 April letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Kobia expressed "deep  concern" as "no specific reason for the arrest or detention of Mr Fernando  has been given so far". "Widely recognized as an Asian ecumenical leader  with integrity and a strong commitment to justice and peace," Fernando  "remains a victim of unlawful arrest and detention".

Fernando, who is the executive secretary of the Justice and Peace  Commission of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), was  taken into custody by the Terrorism Investigation Department of the Sri  Lankan police at Colombo International Airport on 27 March 2009.

In his letter, Kobia stressed that "the actions surrounding the arrest and  detention of Mr Fernando did not follow the procedures prescribed by law.  As the reasons for his arrest have not been provided, there is thereby a  violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Sri Lankan Constituti on," as well as of international human rights law.

>Full text of the letter:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6807

>Read also a news story by ACT International:
>http://act-intl.org/news.php?uid=681

>National Christian Council of Sri Lanka:
>http://www.nccsl.org

WCC member churches in Sri Lanka:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/sri-lanka.html

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363media@wcc -coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness  and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of  churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,  Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million  Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman  Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from  the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.