The Free Lawyers organisation has condemned the Criminal Investigation Department’s contempt-of-court probe targeting six opposition figures over public comments on the Suresh Salley case, calling it an attempt to silence political dissent.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the group said the investigation involving MP Dilith Jayaweera, former MPs Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, along with Mahinda Pathirana, Asanka Nawaratne and Sugeeshwara Bandara, raises “concerns about political suppression”. It described the move as an attempt to restrict freedom of expression.
The Free Lawyers’ core legal argument was that the Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution Act, No. 8 of 2024, does not give the police authority to institute or pursue contempt-of-court proceedings on behalf of the judiciary. The organisation said it was unusual for a Magistrate’s Court to be informed in a single case about comments made by several political party leaders and activists.
The statement also expressed concern over “misuse of police powers to silence political dissent” and questioned the appointment of the current CID Director on what it described as political grounds, claiming law enforcement was being used to target government critics. It called on the public to remain vigilant in safeguarding freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution, including freedom of speech and freedom of conscience.
The Free Lawyers’ statement responds directly to the CID’s submission to the Colombo Fort Magistrate on Monday that contempt charges would be filed in the Court of Appeal under the 2024 Act, after investigators flagged what they called organised remarks through electronic media that could obstruct the Easter Sunday probe into former SIS Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay. Magistrate Pasan Amarasena declined the CID’s request to issue summons and directed the matter to be pursued through the Court of Appeal.
Tuesday’s intervention adds the bar’s voice to a chorus of opposition pushback that has built around the Sallay detention this week, lining up alongside Sarvajana Balaya’s appeal to the President and Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s separate Court of Appeal petition seeking to block his own arrest under the PTA.
A separate statement issued the same day by the Dinana Dakuna collective echoed the Free Lawyers’ position, condemning what its leadership called politically motivated police and CID interference and arguing that the contempt charges were being used to silence public criticism, Ada Derana reported. The group’s spokesperson Shiral Lakthilaka invoked Articles 14(1)(a) and 10 of the Constitution and warned that restricting these rights undermines democratic governance. The Dinana Dakuna statement also questioned recent CID actions as an effort to prevent criticism of senior law enforcement officials, broadening the backlash from a strictly legal critique to a wider civil-society objection.
