(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.
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Two Sri Lankan human rights activists held under anti-terror laws have been released
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Their arrests were condemned by the U.S., UK and international rights groups
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Police say they were held after visiting addresses of interest in connection to a police shooting
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One of the men believes the arrests are linked to a push to condemn Sri Lanka at the U.N.
"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," @placeholder told CNN after his release.