Special police security has been assigned to Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena after a letter threatening his life was sent to him over a case being heard in his court, Hiru News reported, citing police sources.
Four officers have been deployed for the magistrate’s protection — a personal security officer and three other personnel.
How the threat was handled
A senior police officer told Hiru that the threatening letter concerned a case before the Fort Magistrate’s Court. Amarasena notified the Inspector General of Police in writing, and the IGP referred the matter to the Criminal Investigation Department.
The CID’s Homicide Investigations Division has opened a probe. Officers went to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on 29 September to record statements from the magistrate, and a senior departmental official said further investigations are continuing.
Which case is not stated
Hiru’s report does not identify the case the threat relates to, and names no suspect. That matters, because Amarasena’s court currently handles several of the country’s most contested prosecutions.
He is the magistrate in the Criminal Investigation Department’s money-laundering file against Namal Rajapaksa, in which bail was granted on 30 September with the case due back before him on 14 October. The Fort court has also dealt this year with proceedings involving former State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Salley and with cases arising from the Easter Sunday investigations.
No connection between any of those matters and the threat has been reported, and none should be inferred from the fact that they share a courtroom.
Context
The deployment is an unusual step in Sri Lanka, where sitting magistrates are not routinely given personal protection details. Referring the matter to the CID’s homicide division rather than to a local police station indicates the threat was treated as credible rather than as a nuisance complaint.
No other verified newsroom had reported the threat at the time of writing; the account rests on Hiru’s own police sourcing.
Hiru does not say when the letter was received, how it was delivered, whether any arrest has been made, or how long the security detail will remain in place.
