The Court of Appeal has fixed contempt of court proceedings against six people — among them former Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila and Parliamentarian Dilith Jayaweera — for 15 October, the Daily Mirror reported.
The allegation is that the six made false and contemptuous statements concerning ongoing judicial proceedings related to the Easter Sunday attacks.
The matter was taken up on Wednesday before a three-judge bench comprising President of the Court of Appeal Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya, Justice Chamath Morais and Justice Adithya Patabendige.
Where the complaint came from
The proceedings arise from a complaint filed by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena, who alleged the statements were made in connection with court proceedings before him involving retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service.
This is a complaint by a judicial officer about commentary on a case in his own court, rather than a prosecution brought by the Attorney General.
The proceedings the statements are said to concern
Those proceedings were before the same magistrate on the same day. Fort Magistrate Amarasena on Wednesday ordered two police intelligence officers further remanded until 21 October in the Criminal Investigation Department’s Easter Sunday investigation, Hiru News reported.
The two — Yasim Bawa Jegilpas, attached to the Vavunathivu army camp and named as first suspect, and Sarath Samantha, named as second suspect — appeared via Zoom from prison custody. The CID has named Sallay as the third suspect in the same case, and told the court it is analysing the suspects’ statements on the receipt of crucial information before the 2019 attacks and on how that information was passed to senior officers.
Sallay was certified fit for discharge and returned to CID custody on 6 October after four months at the National Hospital.
Hiru’s filing covers that remand order, not the contempt ruling; no outlet other than the Daily Mirror has so far reported the 15 October date.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror names three of the six and does not identify the other three. It does not say what the statements were, when or where they were made, whether all six were represented on Wednesday, or whether 15 October is fixed for hearing or for further mention. No response from any of the six is carried, and no penalty is indicated.
Separately, Magistrate Amarasena was assigned a police security detail on 1 October after a letter threatening his life over a case before his court. No filing states which case that threat concerned, and none connects it to this matter.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Hiru News.
