The wife and lawyer of detained former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay have written separately to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seeking permission to visit him daily while he receives treatment at the Colombo National Hospital, Ada Derana reported.
Sallay is being held under a detention order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with investigations into the April 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. He is currently in hospital under CID custody and is reportedly continuing a hunger strike.
The two letters followed a ruling by Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara on Wednesday (10) that he lacked the authority to order such access, given that the suspect is being held under PTA provisions. Counsel had asked the magistrate to allow Sallay’s wife and son to visit him during hospital visiting hours each day.
In her letter, the former intelligence chief’s wife asked the CID Director to permit daily visits. Sallay’s lawyer Asith Siriwardena submitted a separate request, citing his professional responsibility to monitor his client’s medical condition, safeguard his rights and welfare, and keep court informed of relevant developments. Siriwardena said regular communication with his client was particularly necessary as Sallay is engaged in a hunger strike.
The access dispute is the latest flashpoint in a fast-moving accountability case that has produced near-daily court hearings and parliamentary clashes since Sallay’s PTA detention in early June. The Court of Appeal on Thursday adjourned his writ challenge to the detention order until July 10, while a five-member medical panel appointed by the Fort Magistrate is expected to assess his clinical condition this week. A satyagraha campaign at Colombo Fort by his supporters was temporarily suspended on Tuesday after the court’s medical-board decision.
Update — June 15: Weerasekera defends the hunger strike as a “patriotic stand”
Former minister Sarath Weerasekera framed Sallay’s hunger strike on Monday as rooted in a firm policy stance, telling reporters that the former intelligence chief refuses to disclose intelligence to “unwanted persons” even at the risk of death, Newswire reported. He said Sallay’s position reflected patriotism and that only those who “truly love their nation” would protect national security at personal cost. Weerasekera said Sallay’s wife and son had visited him and reported he was in a deteriorating condition and unable to speak. The former minister, who said he had not personally visited Sallay, urged the family to convince him to take food: “Only then can we take legal action against those working against Sallay.”
Sources: Wife and lawyer seek daily access to detained ex-SIS Director Suresh Sallay — Ada Derana, June 11; Sarath Weerasekera defends Suresh Sallay’s hunger strike as patriotic stand — Newswire, June 15.
