Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that police officers violated the fundamental rights of a social activist through his arrest and detention during the 2022 Aragalaya protests, NewsFirst reported.
The court found that Deshabandu Tennakoon, the former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Western Province, and Nalin Sriyantha, the former Officer-in-Charge of the Colombo North Special Investigation Unit, were responsible for the violation. The activist, reported to be Anuruddha Bandara, had petitioned the court challenging the legality of his detention during the protest movement.
The 2022 Aragalaya — Sinhala for “the struggle” — was the mass protest wave that swept Sri Lanka at the height of the economic crisis, culminating in the resignation and flight of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The handling of protesters by security forces during that period has since generated a series of legal challenges over arrests, detentions and the use of force.
The ruling adds to mounting judicial scrutiny of Tennakoon, once one of the country’s most senior police officers. It reinforces a growing body of Supreme Court decisions holding that authorities overstepped constitutional limits in their response to the protests, and strengthens accountability claims brought by activists who say they were unlawfully targeted.
The judgment identifies the officers found responsible and affirms that the petitioner’s constitutional rights were breached, though further details of any compensation or directives ordered by the court were awaited.
