Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Mujibur Rahuman on Tuesday called for a formal inquiry into why former State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Salley allegedly attempted to portray attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah as the mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, sharpening a parallel opposition pressure line on the renewed criminal probe.
In a detailed social media statement, Rahuman said the question went to the integrity of the original investigation. “Why did Suresh Salley attempt to falsely label Hejaaz as the mastermind behind the Easter attacks? This must be investigated. It is also evident from the testimony he gave before the Commission,” he said.
The MP framed his intervention as a first-hand account. He said Hizbullah’s wife had phoned him around 9 p.m. one night in April 2020, during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, to say CID officers had arrived at the family home. “I immediately went there and inquired from the officers what the issue was, and they said they needed to record a statement,” Rahuman said. “At that time, Hejaaz’s wife was pregnant. After nearly two hours, he was arrested. I followed them to the CID, and he was detained under a detention order for a significant period. After he was remanded, I visited him in prison.”
Rahuman also linked the new public defence of Salley — including frequent media appearances by Salley’s wife — to the earlier framing of Hizbullah. “These days, Suresh Salley’s wife is frequently seen in the media. This reminded me of an incident during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration,” he said. He stressed that any individual under investigation, including Salley, should pursue redress through the courts. “If he is innocent, he should not be afraid. He must prove his innocence before the law, not resort to extreme actions.”
The intervention adds a second SJB voice to the renewed opposition push, alongside Hejaaz Hizbullah’s own message from Welikada prison published on Monday, in which Hizbullah said he understood Salley’s treatment because he had endured similar PTA detention. The remarks come hours after Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa warned the Easter probe would not be derailed by threats and as the sathyagraha campaign in support of Salley continues outside Fort Railway Station. Rahuman is himself a figure in the probe — he was questioned by the CID over 53 calls to a jailed drug dealer in May — and his public account places him in the small group of opposition MPs personally connected to both the original Hizbullah arrest and the current Salley case.
