evidence: On May 18, local media and civil society groups reported the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested four persons under the PTA, all of whom were witnesses in support of Hizbullah in his hate speech case. All four originally recorded statements when Hizbullah was arrested in 2020, but police had not acted against them. Civil society groups said the witnesses’ arrests under the PTA opened the possibility of the court disallowing their testimonies in defense of Hizbullah. On June 26, the Puttalam High Court indicted two of the witnesses under the ICCPR Act and released them on bail. At year’s end, the ICCPR cases remained pending. The court released and dropped cases against the other two witnesses. [...] On March 22, Immigration Department officials at Palaly International Airport in Jaffna detained and deported Indian evangelist Paul Dhinakaran of Jesus Calls following allegations he misused his visa to hold religious conventions, local media and Christian groups reported. Dhinakaran had traveled to Sri Lanka to hold religious meetings in Jaffna, but the Hindu organization Jaffna Shiv Sena objected to his visit and posted signs accusing him of unethical conversions. More than 50 Hindus from the Manipai area in Jaffna also wrote to the police DIG requesting they deny permission for Dhinakaran’s planned religious program. The Shiv Sena said Dhinakaran’s visit would have disturbed interfaith relationships and violated the ICCPR Act.