Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Sri Lankan counterpart on the arrest of Sangeethsan Ganeskumar, also known as Hip Hop Sangee.

Officials at our High Commission in Colombo are monitoring this case, and the British High Commissioner raised it with the Sri Lankan authorities on 4 June.

The UK remains firmly committed to protecting human rights in Sri Lanka, including securing truth, justice and accountability for past abuses against the Tamil community and other minority groups. We also continue to press the Sri Lankan Government, bilaterally and at the UN Human Rights Council, for meaningful progress and urge them to uphold their commitments to international human rights standards.

In particular, we have consistently raised concerns about the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka, and urged its repeal and replacement in line with international law and safeguards.