News
Jaffna University teachers’ union condemns intimidation of judges, administrators
Judges and administrators who refuse to support or connive with the Sinhala-Buddhist agenda face intimidation and come under heavy political duress, the University of Teacher’s Association University of Jaffna has said in a media statement.
Full text of the statement:Judge T. Saravanarajah, District Court Judge of Mullaitivu, has resigned from all his positions in the judicial system and fled the country amidst threats to his life and political pressure from the top. This development has caused shock and despair among those who value justice and democracy. It also demonstrates the extent to which the independence of Sri Lanka’s judicial system has been undermined.
Judge Saravanarajah openly condemned the illegal nature of the archaeological excavation carried out in Kurunthurmalai with the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist agenda and issued rulings that are considered fair. He also ruled in defense of people’s right to memorialization, whenever there were attempts to abort commemoration events organized by the Tamil community.
Recently, extreme Sinhala nationalist forces in the South launched a hate campaign and issued threats against this judge who is widely perceived as a person of integrity and great courage. Not so long ago, Mr. Sarath Weerasekara, Member of Parliament representing the Colombo district, made vituperative statements against the judge.
Judge Saravanarajah has mentioned in his letter of resignation the threats on his life and the pressure he faced. It is reported in the media that the Attorney General summoned Judge Saravanarajah to his office on the 21st of September 2023 and, in the guise of advising the judge, exerted pressure on him to change his ruling in the Kurnthurmalai issue. If a judge who carried out his responsibilities in line with the law of the land is facing such an unsettling, dangerous situation, what is the predicament of the minority communities who face and resist racism on a daily basis?
The University of Jaffna Teachers’ Association strongly condemns the intimidation and the hate campaign against Judge Saravanarajah and the pressure applied on him to prevent him from discharging his responsibilities in an independent manner. The Association demands that all those who are involved in the hate campaigns and the acts of interference and intimidation against the judge be held accountable.
The Association notes with dismay that the judicial system in the North-East of Sri Lanka is afflicted with intimidation and political interference today. The Sinhala-Buddhist agenda of the state is the root cause of the threats that the judges who serve the courts in the North-East are subjected to. Sinahalizing and Buddhisizing this region where the Tamil and Muslim communities form the majority population and blocking memorialization events of the Tamil community are central to this agenda.
Judges and administrators attached to the public sector who refuse to support or connive with this agenda face intimidation and come under heavy political duress. It is important to recognize that as long as Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism reigns supreme, the independence of the judicial system and the administrative services in the North-East will be under threat. It is vital that progressive forces on the island rally together across ethnic, religious and regional divides against this chauvinism and work towards ensuring the equal coexistence of all communities.
It has been reported quoting family sources that veteran singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke has passed away this morning (10) at the age of 68
She had been receiving treatment at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital.
The wife of retired Major General Suresh Sallay has lodged a further complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), alleging that her husband’s fundamental rights continue to be violated as Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers prevent him from having confidential consultations with his lawyer while he is under detention at the National Hospital.
In a letter addressed to the HRCSL Chairman on Thursday, Mrs. S.B.M.S.B. Sallay has said the latest complaint was filed in relation to an earlier complaint concerning the detention and treatment of her husband.
Full text of the letter: I, Mrs. S.B.M.S.B. Sallay, respectfully write to lodge this further complaint in relation to my earlier complaint bearing reference H RC-HO-1 103-26, concerning the detention and treatment of my husband, Retired Major General Suresh Sallay.
I wish to bring to the attention of the Commission a further serious violation of his fundamental rights that occurred on 08 July 2026 during a consultation between my husband and his Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Asith Siriwardena, while my husband remains under detention and is receiving treatment at the National Hospital.
I am informed by his Counsel that he is presently permitted to consult with my husband only once a week for a period of approximately twenty minutes. During the consultation held on 08 July 2026, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) stationed at the Cardiac Coronary Care Unit of the National Hospital informed Counsel that they had received instructions from higher authorities that my husband should not be permitted to meet with his
legal counsel in private. Consequently, the officers remained present throughout the consultation and refused to permit a confidential lawyer-client meeting.
This conduct constitutes a grave infringement of my husband’s fundamental right to communicate privately and confidentially with his legal counsel. Confidential communication between an accused or detainee and his lawyer is an indispensable safeguard of the right to legal representation, the right to prepare his defence, and the right to a fair trial. The denial of confidential legal consultations undermines these fundamental protections guaranteed under the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the applicable provisions governing persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and client is also a well-recognized principle under international human rights law and forms an essential safeguard against arbitrary detention, coercion, and unfair legal proceedings.
In view of the foregoing, I respectfully request the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to urgently intervene and take all necessary steps within its statutory mandate to:
1. Ensure that my husband is afforded immediate and unrestricted confidential access to his legal counsel without the presence or supervision of law enforcement officers;
2. Inquire into the instructions allegedly issued by higher authorities requiring CID officers to remain present during lawyer-client consultations;
3. Direct the relevant authorities to cease any practice that interferes with confidential legal consultations; and
4. Take such further action as the Commission considers appropriate to safeguard my husband’s constitutional and human rights.
This complaint is made as a further complaint to Complaint No. H RC-HO-1103-26, and I respectfully request that it be placed on the same file and considered together with my previous complaints.
I respectfully seek the Commission’s urgent intervention in this matter.
The Supreme Court yesterday (9) upheld a Colombo Commercial High Court order directing former Minister Wimal Weerawansa to pay Rs. 1 million in damages to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva for violating intellectual property rights.
A three-member Supreme Court bench dismissed in its entirety an appeal filed by Weerawansa challenging the earlier Commercial High Court ruling.
The case was instituted by Silva, who alleged that Weerawansa had violated provisions of the Intellectual Property Act by publishing his book “Neththa Wenuwata Aththa” (“Truth Instead of Lies”), which contained the JVP’s political ideology and official party documents without authorisation.
The Supreme Court also affirmed the order restraining the publication and distribution of the book in its existing form. However, the court ruled that the book could be republished if the 60-page section identified as infringing intellectual property rights was removed.
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