According to a Tweet from his lawyer, Sanjaya Wilson Jayasekera:
Based on Attorney General’s report dated 25 January 2021, writer Shakthika Sathkumara is released (discharged) from Polgahawela magistrate Court case and proceedings of the case are concluded. No indictment would be filed.
— Sanjaya Wilson Jayasekera (@sanjayawilson) February 9, 2021
Arrested on 1 April 2019, he was arbitrarily detained for 127 days while police conducted their investigation into allegations that his short-story ‘Ardha’ (meaning ‘Half’) hurt the religious feelings of Buddhists and advocated hatred. He was also suspended from his job, without income to support his family, for eight months. If charged and convicted, he could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
Despite the completion of their investigation on 25 June 2019, Sathkumara was forced to wait for 18 months before the Attorney General released their decision as to whether he would be charged.
Emma Wadsworth-Jones, Casework & Campaigns Manager
On hearing the news, Humanists at Risk Coordinator, Emma Wadsworth-Jones, stated:
“Humanists International welcomes that Shakthika Sathkumara no longer faces the threat of charges – a threat that has hung over him for almost two years. However, we must remember that Sathkumara should never have faced charges in the first place. We urge the authorities to compensate Sathkumara for the hardship he has suffered over the intervening 22 months since his original detention. Humanists International will continue to monitor and campaign against the State’s use of the de facto blasphemy laws to silence voices in the country.”