Chandana Hettiarachchi, Sunil Ratnayake barred from traveling to US
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has barred 12 people from traveling to the US, including officials in China, Belarus and Sri Lanka.
According to a statement posted on the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, the Department of State is designating under Section 7031(c) the following Sri Lankan individuals for their involvement in gross violations of human rights:
“Chandana Hettiarachchi, a Sri Lankan naval intelligence officer, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely, the flagrant denial of the right to liberty of at least eight ‘Trincomalee 11’ victims, from 2008 to 2009.
“Sunil Ratnayake, a former Staff Sergeant in the Sri Lanka Army, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the extrajudicial killings of at least eight Tamil villagers in December 2000. The designation of these two Sri Lankan individuals is not the only action we are taking in support of accountability for gross violations of human rights in Sri Lanka,” the statement attributed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.
https://lk.usembassy.gov/the-united-states-promotes-accountability-for-human-rights-violations-and-abuses/
The US imposed extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to China, Myanmar, North Korea and Bangladesh, and added Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group to an investment blacklist.
Canada and the United Kingdom joined the United States in imposing sanctions related to human rights abuses in Myanmar, while Washington also imposed the first new sanctions on North Korea under President Joe Biden’s administration and targeted Myanmar military entities, among others, in action marking Human Rights Day.
“Our actions today, particularly those in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada, send a message that democracies around the world will act against those who abuse the power of the state to inflict suffering and repression,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.
The measures are the latest in a raft of sanctions timed to coincide with Biden’s two-day virtual Summit for Democracy, where he announced initiatives to bolster democracy around the world and support for pro-democracy legislation in the US.
Biden said on Friday that commitments made by some of the more than 100 world leaders at the summit would push back against rising autocracy around the world, fight corruption and promote human rights.
“This is going to help seed fertile ground for democracy to bloom around the world,” he said in a speech closing the summit.
The Treasury has added Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime to a list of “Chinese military-industrial complex companies,” accusing it of having developed facial recognition programs that can determine a target’s ethnicity, with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs.