( CNN ) -- A prominent Sri Lankan rights activist controversially detained by his government under anti-terror laws says he believes his arrest was partly spurred by an international push to independently investigate the country 's human rights record following decades of civil war . Ruki Fernando , one of his country 's leading human rights activists , was arrested late Sunday night with fellow activist Rev . Praveen Mahesan , a Roman Catholic priest , in the former Tamil rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi in the country 's north . The men were taken to the Colombo headquarters of Sri Lanka 's Terrorist Investigation Division , held for more than 48 hours and questioned , without access to lawyers , before being released early Monday . `` I think it 's a deliberate attempt to intimidate and suppress any form of dissent , criticism or challenge , and clearly not allow people outside Sri Lanka to know what 's happening inside the country , '' Fernando told CNN after his release . `` I anticipate that I will be subject to greater scrutiny and I am extremely worried about the safety and wellbeing of my colleagues and people I 've spoken to in the past . '' The arrests drew a wave of condemnation from NGOs and foreign governments , with British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire saying they were `` not acceptable '' and the U.S. Embassy expressing concern . Fred Carver of the UK-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice said the invocation of anti-terror laws was `` outrageous '' and `` patently absurd . '' `` They 're peace activists , '' he said . Proposed resolution . The arrests occurred in the build-up to a crucial session of the United Nations Human Rights Council this month , at which a resolution sponsored by the United States , Britain and other countries is expected to be tabled . The proposed resolution could call for an independent international investigation into war crimes committed by government forces and Tamil separatists during Sri Lanka 's 26-year civil war , which ended in 2009 , as well as more recent alleged government abuses in the five years since its end . The council has passed two previous resolutions urging Sri Lanka to investigate war crimes , but its perceived failure to do so has led some nations to call for an independent investigation . Sri Lankan police spokesman Ajith Rohana said Fernando faced three charges : selling information abroad , attempting to damage the national harmony between communities , and aiding and abetting the rebuilding of the Tamil Tigers -- the brutal militant group involved in fighting for a Tamil homeland in the north of the country during the decades-long civil war . The investigation had found insufficient evidence to proceed with the charges . Fernando said the first two charges , which appeared to relate to his work with foreign media to highlight rights abuses , suggested that their arrest was motivated in strong part by the impending events in Geneva . `` I think what happened to us is very much linked to the resolution discussion , '' he said . `` I was repeatedly asked who in Geneva , who outside Sri Lanka , was I sharing information with ? It seemed very clear they took great care for other nations not to hear any alternative information or perspectives from within Sri Lanka . '' 'Attempt to intimidate ' Carver said that , beyond the Sri Lankan government 's `` thumbing its nose at Geneva , '' the arrests amounted to an attempt to intimidate those working to expose human rights abuses in post-war Sri Lanka . `` I think this is about sending a warning to human rights defenders that just because Geneva is going their way they have n't won , and more importantly showing them that they can not interface with U.N. processes without suffering consequences . So if an investigation is established , they better not testify . '' But Rohana denied that there was any attempt to intimidate or punish those involved in activism around the U.N. resolution . He said the activists had been arrested after visiting a place of interest relating to the shooting of a policeman in the Kilinochchi area last week . Fernando , a Catholic from the country 's Sinhalese majority , denies any connection to the shooting or those responsible . He said he and Mahesan , a Tamil , had gone to investigate the facts surrounding the arrest of another activist in relation to the shooting , in the regular course of their human rights work . The activist , Jeyakumari Balendran , became a prominent campaigner against political disappearances after her teen son , who had been conscripted to fight for the Tigers , went missing after reportedly surrendering at the end of the war . She was arrested Friday on suspicion of harboring K.P . Selvanayagam , a Tamil Tiger-affiliated figure also known as `` Gobi , '' after he shot and wounded a policeman as authorities closed in on her house , according to a Sri Lankan government memo to the U.N. Fernando denied any connection to Selvanayagam . Mixed fortunes . The end of Sri Lanka 's civil war has been a boon to its economy , paving the way for infrastructure reconstruction and the return of tourists , and bolstering President Mahinda Rajapaksa 's popularity . But activists are calling on the international community to pay attention to conditions in Tamil-majority areas in the north and east of the country . A large military presence is at the heart of complaints of ongoing land expropriation , disappearances , sexual violations , arbitrary arrests and limitations on the freedom of movement , according to rights groups . Meanwhile an ongoing `` Sinhalization '' process -- in which the Buddhist culture and places of worship of the Sinhalese community were replacing the Hindu landscape of Tamil areas -- was a serious concern , as was growing hostility towards Christian and Muslim minorities , according to a joint memorandum submitted by civil society groups to the U.N. earlier this month . In a report in February , the Office of the U.N. 's High Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged Sri Lanka 's progress made in implementing some of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission , its national mechanism for post-war reconciliation . But it noted the government had failed to ensure independent and credible investigations into past violations , and noted ongoing attacks on religious minorities and intimidation of human rights activists , lawyers and journalists .
Two Sri Lankan human rights activists held under anti-terror laws have been released . Their arrests were condemned by the U.S. , UK and international rights groups . Score: 6 One of the men believes the arrests are linked to a push to condemn Sri Lanka at the U.N .