Former State Intelligence Service Director and retired Major General Suresh Sallay has begun a hunger strike in CID custody, his family said on Saturday, alleging he was being subjected to “inhumane treatment.”

The claims were made at a special media briefing by former MP Udaya Gammanpila, who said the briefing had been convened at the request of Sallay’s wife and son to convey an “important message” to the public. Gammanpila said Sallay’s son had visited him on Saturday morning and found him in a distressed condition.

According to Gammanpila, Sallay was served only a small portion of rice and radish curry for dinner on Friday night, with the meal placed on a sheet of newspaper on the floor; the food fell onto the ground when Sallay attempted to pick it up. Sallay became emotionally distressed and refused to consume the meal, and from Friday night had refused food, water and medication in protest. He had told his son he was being treated “worse than a dog” and questioned what wrongdoing had warranted such treatment.

Gammanpila claimed Sallay had said he would continue the protest “until death,” saying he would rather die than continue living while facing what he described as false accusations and inhumane treatment.

Sallay, a retired Major General, was appointed Director of the State Intelligence Service in 2019 shortly after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office. He was arrested by the CID in February under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks investigation, allegations he has consistently denied.

The hunger strike claim emerges three days after Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena reserved judgment to June 10 on a defence request for a psychiatric medical board to examine the suspect, in proceedings where Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peeris characterised the defence claims as an “Oscar-worthy performance.” That hearing also turned on allegations of ill-treatment in custody, which the CID rejected.

Update — June 6 evening: Police on Saturday formally rejected Gammanpila’s allegations. In a statement carried by Newswire and Ada Derana, Police said claims that Sallay had been assaulted or subjected to any form of inhumane treatment in custody were untrue, and that the former intelligence chief was being treated in accordance with standard procedures applicable to all suspects, without any preferential treatment or negligence. Police added that the matters raised were before court and that making public statements outside judicial proceedings on the basis of unverified claims was inappropriate.

Update — June 7: Sallay’s wife, son and brother visited the Criminal Investigation Department on Sunday and confirmed he is continuing what the family is now describing as a “fast unto death.” Speaking to Ada Derana after the visit, his wife said her husband was “innocent” and “being used as a scapegoat,” and said even the Judicial Medical Officer’s report referred to inhumane treatment. She said she had appealed to him to abandon the hunger strike but he had refused, and called for him to be admitted to hospital before “anything happens to him.”

Sallay’s lawyer, Attorney-at-Law Asith Siriwardena, also wrote to CID Director Shani Abeysekara on Sunday demanding that his client be admitted to hospital and examined by qualified and independent medical professionals. The letter said Sallay’s physical and mental condition had severely deteriorated, that he had requested time with his counsel to prepare his last will, and that his current detention conditions posed “a serious and immediate risk to his life.” Siriwardena warned the matter could form the basis for future constitutional, criminal or international legal proceedings if the CID failed to act.

Speaking to NewsFirst after the visit, Sallay’s son Kushal Salley said his father had been in custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for more than 100 days and that the explicit demand of the hunger strike was the repeal of the PTA, alongside what the family described as severe mistreatment in CID custody. He said multiple findings — including Presidential Commission reports, FBI-related material, the Channel 4 investigation and the report of Justice Imam — supported his father’s claim of innocence, and that a JMO report indicated Sallay had been subjected mainly to psychological torture during detention. Sallay’s wife, Manori Salley, speaking outside the CID for the first time, told the Daily Mirror her husband had served the country for 38 years and that the treatment of a public servant of that record was deeply unjust. Newswire also carried her appeal, in which she said she may need to act on his behalf in seeking medical attention because “he is no longer in a position to request it himself.”

Later on Sunday, Manori Salley submitted a formal letter to the Inspector General of Police calling for an independent criminal investigation into the alleged treatment of her husband in CID custody, Ada Derana reported. The letter sets out ten points based on information conveyed by Sallay during the June 6 family visit and lists alleged offences including torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, abuse of authority and denial of medical care. She noted that a separate complaint of inhumane treatment had been submitted to the IGP’s office on March 7 and that the family had received no response, and asked that the latest correspondence be treated as a renewed complaint and an urgent request for intervention. The letter also said Sallay had instructed his legal representatives to continue legal action even in the event of his death, and that he remained confident pending writ proceedings would establish his innocence.

Update — June 7 evening: Sallay was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital’s Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) for medical care late on Sunday, Ada Derana reported, citing hospital sources. Further details on his health condition were not released. The hospitalisation comes on the third day of what the family is describing as a “fast unto death,” and follows the wife’s morning appeal for him to be admitted to hospital before “anything happens to him.” Opposition political parties separately announced on Sunday evening that they would launch an indefinite protest opposite the Colombo Fort Railway Station over what they describe as improper treatment of the former intelligence chief.

Update — June 9: Sallay is continuing the hunger strike from the Colombo National Hospital and has set conditions for ending it, according to relatives and legal counsel allowed to visit him on Monday. He is demanding the removal of the CID Director and a change in his place of detention, and said he is protesting the ongoing investigations against him. The opposition Satyagraha opposite the Colombo Fort Railway Station continued through the night, with political representatives and supporters maintaining the protest site. Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila said the protest would continue regardless of obstacles, and Sarvajana Balaya Deputy Chairperson Anuradha Yahampath said it would continue until Sallay is released, describing the situation as “an injustice against war veterans.” National People’s Power MP Chandana Sooriyaarachchi urged the public not to be alarmed, saying the matter is before courts and the judiciary will resolve it.

The Island, in a parallel Monday report, confirmed the CID granted 15-minute visits to family members and lawyers after protest letters from Sallay’s wife Manori and counsel Asith Siriwardena. Siriwardena requested Sallay to discontinue the hunger strike but Sallay refused, asking the counsel to tell his wife not to make similar requests. Sallay has said he will continue the fast-unto-death until the government gives a formal undertaking to transfer both his place of detention and the investigation to another investigative division of the Police Department — specifically one “not under the supervision, command or control of retired SSP Shani Abeysekera,” sources told the paper. Manori Sallay’s letter to the CID Director — reproduced in full by The Island — also requested permission for President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando and Attorney-at-Law Asith Siriwardena to visit her husband urgently at the National Hospital “to help preserve his life,” describing the request as being made “entirely on humanitarian grounds.”

Sources