The wife of former military intelligence chief Major General (Retd.) Suresh Sallay has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake not to extend his detention order, warning that his continued detention and possible transfer from hospital to CID custody could pose a grave risk to his life.

In an appeal to the President, S. B. M. S. B. Sallay said her husband’s health had deteriorated to a “life-threatening level” during his detention and that he had recently undergone a cardiac procedure in which an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) was implanted.

Full text of her appeal: With reference to my previous letter dated 18th May 2026, I write to Your Excellency once again, with the utmost respect and with grave concern for the life and health of my husband, Major General (Retd.) Suresh Sallay, who continues to be detained under a Detention Order issued under Your Excellency’s authority as the Hon. Minister of Defence.

I respectfully bring to Your Excellency’s urgent attention the fact that, since my previous appeal, my husband’s health has deteriorated to an extremely serious and life-threatening level.

Following the deterioration of his health during his detention, particularly after he commenced a hunger strike in protest of his continued detention and the circumstances surrounding his incarceration, my husband was transferred to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on 7th June 2026 for medical treatment.

Thereafter, owing to the deterioration of his condition and the emergence of abnormal cardiac conditions, he was transferred to the Cardiology Unit of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on 27th June 2026. He has remained under the care and treatment of the medical specialists attached to the Cardiology Unit since then.

I have now been informed that, due to the continuing failure and serious impairment of his heart function, my husband was required to undergo a cardiac procedure during which an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) was implanted in his heart.

The implantation of an ICD is a serious medical intervention undertaken to manage potentially life-threatening abnormalities of the heart and to protect a patient from dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. My husband is presently in a particularly vulnerable condition following this procedure and requires close, continuous and specialised medical observation and attention.

In these circumstances, the continued extension of the Detention Order and any attempt to remove him from the controlled medical environment of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka and return him to the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department would, in my respectful submission, expose him to an immediate and grave risk to his life.

Your Excellency, my husband has already suffered a significant deterioration of his physical condition during his detention. His present cardiac condition is substantially more serious than it was at the time of my previous appeal. He has now undergone major cardiac treatment and has an implanted ICD which requires appropriate medical supervision.

It is therefore my deepest fear that, if he is transferred from the National Hospital and placed once again in CID custody in his present condition, his health will deteriorate further and that such deterioration may result in a massive and potentially irreversible threat to his life.

I respectfully submit that, at this stage, the question is no longer merely one concerning the conditions of his detention. It is a matter concerning the preservation of his life and the State’s obligation to ensure that a person in its custody is not exposed to a foreseeable and avoidable risk of serious harm.

Your Excellency is already aware, from my previous representation and the matters brought before the learned Magistrate, of the concerns regarding my husband’s treatment and physical and psychological condition during his detention. Those concerns have now become even more serious in view of his present cardiac condition and the surgical implantation of an ICD.

I therefore most respectfully urge Your Excellency not to extend the present Detention Order upon its expiry.

I further respectfully request that my husband be released from detention under the Detention Order and transferred to remand custody under the supervision of the competent judicial authority, so that his liberty and the continuation of the investigation may remain subject to judicial supervision while, at the same time, his immediate medical needs can be properly addressed.

I wish to make it abundantly clear that neither my husband nor our family has any intention whatsoever of obstructing, delaying, or interfering with any lawful investigation. We are prepared to extend our fullest cooperation and support to any investigation conducted by the relevant authorities in accordance with the law. My husband is also willing to comply with any lawful requirement of the investigating authorities and the Court.

Accordingly, the conclusion of the Detention Order and the transfer of my husband to remand custody should not in any manner be interpreted as an attempt to frustrate or impede the investigation. Any necessary investigation, questioning, recording of statements, or other lawful steps may be undertaken in accordance with the law and, where necessary, after the Detention Order is brought to an end, while ensuring that his serious medical condition is given the paramount consideration it requires.

Your Excellency, I respectfully appeal to your sense of humanity and responsibility as the Head of State and the Minister responsible for Defence. Whatever may be the allegations against my husband, he remains a human being whose life and health must be protected while he remains under the authority and custody of the State.

In particular, at a time when Your Excellency and the Government are considering replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by introducing the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTB), with a view to reforming or replacing the more draconian provisions of the existing law, I am confident that Your Excellency would not find it necessary to rely on such provisions of the PTA to justify a further extension of the Detention Order in my husband’s case, especially in light of his present and critical medical condition.

At present, my husband is not merely a detainee suffering from an ordinary medical condition. He is a cardiac patient who has suffered serious heart failure and has undergone a procedure involving the implantation of an ICD. His condition requires specialised medical care and close monitoring.

Any decision to extend the Detention Order in these circumstances, followed by his removal from the National Hospital and transfer to CID custody, would create an entirely foreseeable and unacceptable risk to his life. I therefore earnestly and respectfully request Your Excellency to exercise your lawful authority and humanitarian discretion to:

a. Decline to extend the present Detention Order upon its expiry;

b. Direct that my husband be transferred to remand custody under judicial supervision, rather than being returned to CID custody;

c. Ensure that he continues to receive the specialised cardiac treatment, medical supervision and post-operative care required following the implantation of the ICD;

d. Ensure that no step is taken which would expose him to an avoidable or foreseeable risk of further deterioration or loss of life; and

e. Permit and facilitate the continuation of any lawful investigation, to which my husband and our family will extend our fullest cooperation, without compromising his health, safety and fundamental rights.

Your Excellency, I make this appeal not merely as a wife seeking the release of her husband, but as a wife who is deeply concerned that the continued detention of her husband in his present medical condition may result in a tragic and irreversible consequence.

I therefore humbly appeal to Your Excellency to consider the present medical circumstances with the utmost urgency and compassion and to ensure that no further extension of the Detention Order places my husband’s life at unnecessary risk.

I place my faith in Your Excellency’s office and respectfully request your immediate intervention in the interests of humanity, justice, fairness and the preservation of life.