evidence: On 17 December 2023 the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon, with the endorsement of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, spearheaded an operation titled "Yukthiya", with the stated aim of controlling "the drug menace". The operation is ongoing as of 10 January 2024, with at least one thousand persons arrested daily. [...] - Immediately cease operation "Yukthiya" and release persons who have been arrested without evidence or reasonable suspicion. The government should ensure that those arrested who do not have access to legal representation are provided legal aid. [...] [1] ‘Operation ‘Yukthiya’: 1,184 more suspects arrested with drugs’ Ada Derana, 5 January 2024. https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=96159 [2] ‘HRCSL concerned over alleged human rights abuses in ’Yukthiya’ Operation’ Daily Mirror, 8 January 2024. https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/HRCSL-concerned-over-alleged-human-rights-abuses-in-Yukthiya-Operation/108-274667 [3] ‘Operation Yukthiya: Over 18,000 suspects arrested since launch’ News First, 30 December 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6vdBuEH4dw [4] Ambika Satkunanathan (2021) ‘Broken System: Drug Control, Detention and Treatment of People Who Use Drugs in Sri Lanka’ Harm Reduction International. https://www.hri.global/files/2021/08/03/HRI_Report_Sri_Lanka_Drug_Control.pdf [5] Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Prison Study by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, 2020, https://www.hrcsl.lk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Prison-Report-Final-2.pdf.