News
Former STF Commandant admits to transferring out its intelligence officers from East on his watch
by Rathindra Kuruwita
STF intelligence officers had stopped probing Islamic extremism in the East as a gazette issued in August 2017 entrusted them with dealing with organised crimes and drugs, former Commandant of the STF, M.R. Latheef, on Saturday, told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing the Easter Sunday attacks.
“Thereafter, we focussed on our new mandate. However, I expected that the STF too would be involved in dealing with rising Islamic extremism. In the past, the STF commandant and the head of STF intelligence took part in the weekly intelligence coordination committee meetings. When I became the head of the STF, I was informed that there was no need for the STF to attend those meetings.”
The chairman of the Commission then asked the witness whether by 2019, the focus of the STF had been completely shifted from eradicating terrorism to tackling organised crime. Latheef said that to deal with organised crimes, the STF had to assist the Police Narcotic Bureau, the Police Crimes Division and the Women and Children’s Bureau.
“We focused on these from 2018. Our main role was to assist the police. We were also asked by the Presidential Secretariat to look into environmental destruction,” he said.
Latheef was also asked if there had been transfers of STF intelligence officers deployed in the East on his watch. The witness said there had been 31 transfers. Some were sent for advanced training at the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). There were 20 such transfers. There had been two transfers over misconduct, four based on appeals, and five had been removed over indiscipline, he said.
The Chairman: “The STF commandant before you, Ranjith Perera, attached these 30 intelligence officers to camps in the east. They were the ones who were transferred, weren’t they?”
“Yes,” Latheef said.
Chairman: “So these officers were removed and placed somewhere else?”
Latheef: “That had been done due to service needs and requests by commanders in various camps. We were also not asked to look at Islamic extremism and Community Police, who consisted of people from the same areas also found nothing.”
Chairman: “Why didn’t the SIS ask for your help?”
Latheef: “That’s a puzzle to me too.”
The Commission also questioned Latheef why he had not earlier submitted to the commission reports by STF intelligence officers warning of rising Islamic extremism in the East. During his first appearance at the PCoI in late September, Latheef said STF intelligence officers had never reported on the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim. In his second appearance, earlier this month, Commissioners directed Latheef’s attention to a report sent by the STF intelligence officers to the Commanding Officer of the Kalawanchikudi STF camp on 24 March, 2018. This report referred to Zahran and the NTJ and Latheef acknowledged that the report referred to NTJ and Zahran.
Commissioners: “Why didn’t you include STF reports on Zahran and the NTJ in the documents you submitted to the Commission?”
SDIG Latheef: “I don’t know if the documents you have were received by the STF headquarters. Can you please request a report on this from the STF headquarters? These three reports were sent to STF regional camps. It should be checked whether they were referred to the headquarters and it should be ascertained whether any officer at the headquarters had inquired into them.”
On Saturday, this issue was taken up again, when the Attorney General’s Department official leading the evidence asked Latheef why he had not submitted two reports dated March 18, 2017 and March 24, 2017, warning of NTJ and Zahran, to the PCoI.
“I only presented reports after July 2017,” the witness said.
The AG’s Department official said: “None of these reports speak of NTJ or their involvement in a clash at the Aliyar Junction in Kattankudy. It is after this that Zahran and others left the area.”
“There was no specific reason and I wanted to show th 2019 reports,” the witness said.
At this point the Chairman of the PCoI stressed that the PCoI had asked him to submit all STF intelligence reports in his possession on Islamic Extremism since 2015. Letheef affirmed that it indeed was the case.
“The main reason why the STF was established was to combat terrorism, am I right?” the Chairman asked.
“Yes,” the witness said.
“At that time the STF had a strong intelligence wing, didn’t it?” the Chairman asked.
“A small team was trained to gather information,” Latheef said.
“If I say these men were given special training on gathering intelligence, would you accept?” the Chairman asked.
“Yes, in 2006 a team of Indian intelligence officials gave a training,” Latheef said.
“So, the STF had a strong intelligence network in the East. Why weren’t they able to detect what was brewing underneath?” the Chairman asked.
“We received a lot of support from Muslims during the war. But as I said earlier our focus shifted in 2017,” Latheef said.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday accused the government of seeking to use the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA) to suppress popular political activity, claiming that some of its provisions were more repressive than those of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda told a media briefing, in Nugegoda, that the definition of terrorism in the Bill was so broad that it could be used to label almost any form of popular political activity as terrorism.
He said the Bill’s approach to defining terrorism was based largely on attempts to compel a government, or an international organisation, to do, or refrain from doing something, rather than on internationally recognised criteria, such as killings, causing serious bodily harm, kidnapping or acts intended to spread terror among the public.
Jayagoda also alleged that the Bill transferred substantial powers from the judiciary to the executive, while extending powers of arrest, investigation and detention to the armed forces, in addition to the police.
He claimed that the government had sought to portray the Bill as a replacement for the PTA while retaining or introducing provisions that could facilitate political victimisation and repression.
The FSP also questioned the government’s decision to proceed with the Bill, despite having previously sought public views on an earlier draft.
Jayagoda said a draft had been published earlier this year, with the period for public submissions ending on February 28, but the Bill subsequently gazetted was essentially the same draft with some provisions rearranged.
Jayagoda also referred to a letter reportedly sent by Attorney-at-Law Saliya Peiris, a member of a Committee, chaired by President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsecularatne, that had been appointed to draft the legislation. He said Peiris had stated, in the October 06 letter, that changes had been made to the draft prepared by the Committee.
“This means that even the Committee, appointed to prepare the Bill, was a deception,” Jayagoda alleged.
He said that the PSTA was fundamentally similar to the Anti-Terrorism Bill introduced by the previous government, in 2023, which the National People’s Power (NPP) opposed and challenged in court.
“If the NPP opposed that Bill then and is now bringing the same legislation before Parliament, the government must explain its position,” he said.
Jayagoda called on NPP MPs to oppose the PSTA in Parliament and urged trade unions and other groups to build a broad public movement against the legislation.
He challenged the government to an open debate on the Bill.
Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa was yesterday remanded until 13 October after being produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court following her arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Shiranthi, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested at her residence on Poorwarama Road, Kirulapone, after CIABOC officers recorded a statement from her for nearly two hours.
According to the CIABOC, the arrest was made over allegations that Rs. 10 million obtained from the National Savings Bank through the Siriliya Saviya organisation was misappropriated.
The money was allegedly obtained to provide a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner to the children’s hospital. Investigators allege that the scanner was not provided and that the funds were instead unlawfully used.
CIABOC is investigating alleged offences under the Public Property Act and corruption-related provisions in connection with the transaction and other financial activities involving Siriliya Saviya, which was headed by Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka on Monday night on a flight from Malaysia after travelling overseas for medical treatment. She left for Singapore on 16 September after being admitted to a private hospital in Colombo on 15 September following an illness.
She had been due to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on 13 October in connection with its investigation into the financial affairs of Siriliya Saviya.
Meanwhile, her lawyers filed an anticipatory bail application before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court on Monday, seeking an order preventing her arrest in connection with the FCID investigation.
Former National Savings Bank (NSB) Chairman Pradeep Kariyawasam was yesterday granted bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
Kariyawasam, husband of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, was arrested in connection with the Bribery Commission’s investigation into the ‘Siriliya Saviya’ account linked to former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
The investigation concerns financial activities involving the Siriliya Saviya initiative, which was headed by Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
CIABOC is continuing investigations into the alleged financial irregularities relating to the account.
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