SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: April 03, 2024

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances

Institution(s):University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Region & Country:Southern Asia | Sri Lanka

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On April 3, 2024, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse students protesting outside of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

The students were protesting a decision by the Cabinet of Ministers approving private medical universities.

Scholars at Risk is concerned with use of water cannons and tear gas to disperse students exercising their peaceful rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting the nonviolent exercise of such rights. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, the use of force to restrict or deter nonviolent student expression undermines academic freedom and democratic society more generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
https://www.adaderana.lk/news/98402/protesting-students-tear-gassed-near-jpura-uni
https://www.newswire.lk/2024/04/03/moratuwa-jayawardenapura-uni-protests-police-fire-tear-gas/