SC allows Lawyers to access remanded Poet Ahnaf Jazeem

Poet Ahnaf Jazeem was arrested on the 16th May 2021

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the Prison Authorities to allow the access of Lawyers to the remanded poet Ahnaf Jazeem at Colombo Remand Prison, with the right to maintain lawyer-client privilege and confidentiality.

Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising Justice Murdu Fernando, Justice Yasantha Kodagoda and Justice Shiran Goonaratne made this order consequent to a Fundamental Rights petition filed on behalf of 26-year-old poet Ahnaf Jazeem challenging his arrest and detention.

President’s Counsel K. Kanag Easwaran with Counsel Lakshmanan Jayakumar appearing for the petitioner submitted to Court that Poet Ahnaf Jazeem had never been produced before a Magistrate since May this year. They sought meaningful access to the detainee to obtain detainee’s instructions regarding the application filed before Supreme Court.

Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle informed Supreme Court that the suspect was currently under judicial custody and maintained that he had been produced before a Magistrate following the expiration of the detention order. He further said the Attorney General had already filed limited objections against this fundamental Rights petition.

The petition was fixed for support on September 8.

The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had earlier arrested Ahnaf Jazeem under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over an allegation that he had promoted extremism and violence in children and aided and abetted Muslim extremism through his literary work.

The petition has also sought an interim order to release Ahnaf Jazeem from detention.

The Poet Ahnaf Jazeem was arrested on the 16th May 2021 at his residence in Chilavathurai.

Ahnaf Jazeem had been a writer of poems and short stories since his school days,

presenting his poems to poetry competitions and had been awarded.

The petitioner stated that Poet Ahnaf Jazeem did not, by way of his artistic writings, support or incite violence or promoted extremism, racism within sections of the Muslim community, but on the contrary, exactly opposed the same.