COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has banned civil activist groups from holding news conferences and training for journalists, with the organizations rejecting the move as unconstitutional.

J.C. Weliamuna, a lawyer from the Civil Society Collective, an umbrella organization, said Wednesday that the defense ministry’s order is “absolutely unconstitutional” and violates the public’s rights of freedom of association and expression. He called it a “continuation of threats on civil society.”