The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has postponed to September 21 the further hearing of a case filed against six suspects, including former Minister Wimal Weerawansa, over a protest staged outside the United Nations office in Colombo in 2016.
The case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on Monday (July 13). Weerawansa was not present in court; his counsel told the court he was ill and said a medical report would be submitted. After considering the submissions, the Chief Magistrate ordered that the case be recalled on September 21.
The case was filed by the Cinnamon Gardens Police, who allege that a public disturbance was caused on February 6, 2016, when a protest blocked Thummulla and surrounding roads in front of the UN office. The demonstration took place during the visit to Sri Lanka of the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
The other suspects named in the case are Jayantha Samaraweera, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Piyasiri Wijenayake, Roger Seneviratne and Mohamed Muzammil.
