The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (July 14) fixed July 17 for the further hearing of a petition filed by former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.
The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando. President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena, appearing for the petitioner, made further submissions before the court, after which the matter was put off to July 17 for continued consideration.
Jayawardena told the court that international investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks had shown the bombings were not carried out by his client. He said strong evidence before the Janak de Silva Commission indicated that ringleader Zahran Hashim had been pursuing a plan to establish an Islamic State from 2018 onwards, operating on the ideology of the ISIS terrorist organisation. One objective of the group, he added, had been to attack the Kandy Esala Perahera to inflame tensions between the Sinhala and Muslim communities.
Citing former Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekara, the counsel said commission reports contained no evidence linking Sallay to the attacks. He noted that Sri Lanka had sought United States assistance for an independent investigation, and that 33 FBI officers had travelled to Sri Lanka to help the CID with tasks including the analysis of digital devices, during a period when Abeysekara headed the CID.
Jayawardena further alleged that former Senior Deputy Inspector General Ravi Seneviratne and Abeysekara had been aware of extremist activity by the National Thowheeth Jama’ath but failed to act. He said that between January 25 and April 20, 2019, then SIS Director Nilantha Jayawardena had forwarded intelligence on Zahran Hashim and the group to the Inspector General of Police, with copies sent to Seneviratne and Abeysekara.
The case is the latest turn in Sallay’s writ petition before the Court of Appeal challenging his PTA detention, which was earlier adjourned from July 10.
