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Sabry questions rationale behind Ravi, Shani supervising Easter Sunday carnage probe after filing FR petitions to prevent their own arrest over same terror attacks

Published

12 months ago

2025/10/23

Sabry

President’s Counsel Ali Sabry has told the Court of Appeal that two respondents in a petition filed by Col. Kelum S. Maddumage to prevent his arrest in connection with the ongoing 2019 Easter Sunday carnage investigation––namely, Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne (retired SDIG) and retired CID Director Shani Abeysekara–– had previously filed fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court to prevent their own arrests over the same attacks.

Sabry pointed out that the Attorney General had given an undertaking to the Supreme Court, on 20 October, 2024, that Seneviratne and Abeysekera wouldn’t be arrested.

Sabry said so appearing for Col. Maddumage, formerly of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and current Commanding Officer of the Diyatalawa Military Academy.

The Court of Appeal extended the interim injunction against the arrest of Col. Maddumage till 11 November. The two-judge bench, consisting of Court of Appeal President Justice Rohan Abeysooriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando, issued the order on Tuesday (21) after having considered a writ petition filed by the ex-DMI officer.

Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath, who appeared for the respondents, asked the two-judge bench to lift the ex parte interim injunction that prevented the serving officer’s arrest.

Sabry emphasised that there is no evidence whatsoever to arrest the officer.

The counsel for petitioner questioned the rationale in those who had been under investigation for the lapses on the part of police in the run up to the Easter Sunday attacks supervising the investigations. Declaring that the victims of the Easter Sunday carnage wanted the truth, Sabry alleged that the investigation has now turned into a political game.

Sabry told court that DMI had provided information 11 days before the Easter attack that such an attack was imminent, and Indian intelligence also provided detailed information about the locations and individuals involved. The PC accused the police of being inefficient, thereby paving the way for the attack.

The President’s Counsel, who had also served as the Foreign Minister, pointed out that the current investigation had been based on an unsubstantiated statement made by one Azad Maulana to the UK’s Channel 4. Emphasising that the Channel 4’s source had fled Sri Lanka and was seeking political asylum in Switzserland, the PC said that a commission, headed by Supreme Court Justice Imam that investigated Maulana’s claims, unanimously concluded that the claims had no basis or validity.

At this point, the President of the Court of Appeal asked the Deputy Solicitor General if there was an intention to arrest the petitioner. She replied that the decision to arrest, or not, rests with the investigating officers.

However, she stated that the CID had submitted a 68-page detailed “B report” to the Fort Magistrate’s Court, on 22 July, which includes extensive evidence summaries, including investigative information about the petitioner.

She informed the court that the petitioner is being investigated in connection with an incident where, in December 2018, information was allegedly provided to mislead investigators that the murder of two police officers in Vavunathivu was carried out by the LTTE.

Consequently, two former LTTE members were arrested and detained for investigation. However, investigations conducted after the Easter Sunday attack revealed that the police officers’ murders were carried out by Zahran’s group, the Deputy Solicitor General said. The first arrest had been made by the Vavunathivu police on the same day the two police personnel were killed.

In response, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry stated that it was initially believed the LTTE was responsible for the Vavunathivu murders. Sabry said that it was the police, not the petitioner, who first arrested the two former LTTE members and obtained detention orders from the Secretary of Defence to investigate them.

The PC reiterated that such politically motivated investigations will not allow the victims to find out the truth and that his client, an experienced Army intelligence officer, is being made a scapegoat.

The first clear information that Zahran Hashim’s group had carried out the Vavunathivu killings was received by the DMI (Batticaloa) on 09 April, 2019, and the CID informed of the development on 12 April, 2019, through proper channels.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.