January 31st, 2026 - T. Kumar, Human Rights Advocate Forged by Years as a Political Prisoner, Dies at 76

Thambithurai Muthukumarasamy, a human-rights activist known professionally as T. Kumar, died on Jan. 19 at 76. His lifelong advocacy for victims of state repression around the world was deeply shaped by his own experiences as a political prisoner in Sri Lanka, where he spent years incarcerated for his role as a resistance leader. His death was confirmed by Amnesty International, where he worked for more than two decades. His sister, Krishnal Muthukumarasamy, said the cause was complications from sarcoidosis. He lived in the Washington, D.C., area.

Mr. Kumar served in several senior roles at Amnesty International, including director for international advocacy and advocacy director for Asia. In those positions, he testified before the U.S. Congress, addressed the United Nations and spoke globally about abuses committed by governments in China, Vietnam, Afghanistan and elsewhere. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he warned Congress about the Taliban’s use of cruel and degrading punishments, and in 2017 he detailed the torture and unfair trials faced by prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.

Few who heard his testimony realized that Mr. Kumar spoke not only as an advocate, but as a survivor. As a young man, he spent more than five years in Sri Lankan prisons, repeatedly arrested, beaten and transferred between detention centers because of his leadership in student activism on behalf of the island’s largely Hindu Tamil minority. After his death, the Tamil Guardian described him as a key organizer and political thinker of the early Tamil resistance movement.

Mr. Kumar was born on Feb. 23, 1949, in Thirunelveli, Sri Lanka, one of eight children of Thambiturai and Maruthapraveegavalli Muthukumaraswamy. Because his father was a senior judge who traveled the judicial circuit, he grew up in several cities, including Jaffna, Batticaloa, Kandy and Colombo. According to his 2025 memoir, From Political Prisoner to U.N. Advocate, he became politically conscious early in life after witnessing systemic discrimination against Tamils.

While studying engineering in northern Sri Lanka, Mr. Kumar publicly condemned new policies that restricted Tamils’ access to higher education. He helped form a Students’ Council that transformed scattered protests into organized political action. Although the movement was peaceful, he was arrested without charge and imprisoned at Fort Hammenhiel. Amnesty International later designated him a prisoner of conscience and mounted an international campaign that secured his release, though he was rearrested soon afterward and subjected to torture in a southern prison.

During his imprisonment, Mr. Kumar developed a profound faith in the law, studying relentlessly in his cell and eventually gaining admission to law school while still detained. After his release, he completed his legal studies, practiced law and defended Tamil clients, but escalating repression forced him to flee Sri Lanka. After traveling through several countries, he obtained a U.S. visa, later earning a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and beginning his long career with Amnesty International.

In addition to his work with Amnesty, Mr. Kumar lectured at the Foreign Service Institute and monitored elections worldwide with former President Jimmy Carter. Colleagues said his personal history gave his advocacy unusual moral force. He is survived by his wife, Sivaneswari Muthukumarasamy; his sister; and five other siblings. Adotei Akwei of Amnesty described him as a survivor who fought for justice “without fear or bitterness,” leaving a lasting impression on all who worked with him.

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Short Shrift (noun, SHORT-SHRIFT) - Short shrift means “little or no attention or thought” or “quick work.” In religious use it refers to barely adequate time for confession before execution.

Example: Certain neighborhoods have received short shrift from the city government.

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