A new detention facility has been approved.

The President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has published a gazette notice designating the Counter Terrorism Investigation Unit as a prison facility.

On Friday, June 4th, the gazette was published as a notification under Section 9 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The gazette notice stated, "I, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President, do hereby notify that the premises named in the Schedule hereto shall be a place of detention for the purposes of Section 9 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979."

The Counter Terrorism Investigation Unit in Colombo is listed as a detention facility on the calendar.

The custody of offenders detained under the PTA is addressed under Section 9.

As a result, defendants arrested under the PTA will be detained at the facility.  (Easwaran Rutnam)