Former executive presidents and senior politicians are now required to appear before law enforcement agencies when summoned, instead of having investigators travel to their homes to record statements, Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala has said.
Watagala said the change reflected the government’s commitment to applying the law equally regardless of political status or position, the Daily Mirror reported on Friday.
Powerful individuals, he said, “could no longer expect investigators to visit their homes to obtain statements simply because of their positions.”
The constitutional framing
Watagala cited Article 12(1) of the Constitution — the guarantee that every person is entitled to the equal protection of the law — as the basis for the shift, and said Sri Lanka had moved away from a system in which enforcement was influenced by political status, party affiliation or personal connections.
He attributed recent law enforcement results to what he described as the depoliticisation of state institutions, saying the Criminal Investigation Department, CIABOC, the Attorney General’s Department and the judiciary were now able to work without political interference, and that the government had established a political authority that would not interfere with them.
On suspects who leave the country
Watagala said attempts to evade investigation would not succeed. Legal notices could be issued under Section 106 to summon individuals inside the country, he said, while those who had fled abroad could be pursued through international mechanisms including Interpol Red Notices.
He said 74 individuals allegedly linked to international drug networks had already been apprehended and returned to Sri Lanka.
Context: a practice that has been visible for weeks
The statement lands against a run of cases in which the manner of summoning prominent figures has itself been the story.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Division served notice on Shiranthi Rajapaksa this week over a CT scanner donation, requiring her to appear rather than recording a statement at her residence. Namal Rajapaksa was arrested at CIABOC itself on 4 September, having travelled to the Commission to give a statement, and remains in remand custody. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has previously been asked to testify remotely in separate proceedings.
Watagala did not name any individual case, and the Daily Mirror does not link the remarks to a specific summons.
A note on his title
The Daily Mirror’s headline and opening line describe Watagala as “Public Security Minister”, but the same report refers to him as “the Deputy Minister” further down. He is Deputy Minister of Public Security; the senior portfolio is not his. This report uses the title his own ministry and prior coverage give him.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say where or in what setting Watagala was speaking, or whether the change is a formal directive to police and investigating agencies or a statement of expectation. It does not say when the practice changed, whether any written instruction exists, or what happens if a summoned person declines to attend.
It also does not say over what period the 74 drug-network suspects were returned, from which countries, or how many were brought back under Red Notices as opposed to other arrangements. No other verified newsroom had reported the remarks at the time of writing.
