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.

The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) has blamed what it describes as a systemic collapse of the country’s prison administration and the government’s adherence to IMF-backed austerity measures for the recent violence at Negombo Prison, calling for an independent investigation and sweeping reforms to the correctional system.

In a statement issued by its General Secretary, Dr. G. Weerasinghe, the CPSL extended condolences to the families of those killed during the unrest at Negombo Prison and subsequent incidents at other prisons, describing the violence as “not merely an administrative failure within a single institution but a profound systemic breakdown in Sri Lanka’s criminal justice and correctional framework.”

Full text of the statement: The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) extends its condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives during the recent grave events that unfolded at Negombo Prison and subsequently at other prisons. It also expresses its deep concern and firm condemnation regarding the incidents, which represent not merely an administrative failure within a single institution but a profound systemic breakdown in Sri Lanka’s criminal justice and correctional framework.

The CPSL reiterates that prisons are institutions of rehabilitation, not arenas of violence. The Party has long maintained that Sri Lanka must transition from a punitive model to a restorative justice system, to one that rehabilitates offenders and reintegrates them as useful members of society. The lives of prisoners are of value to the nation, and the greatest effort should always be taken to preserve life.

It is therefore significant that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself stated that the loss of even one prisoner’s life is unacceptable. Yet the public was shocked by footage of an STF officer firing apparently indiscriminately through the Judas Window of the main gate of Negombo Prison. This raises serious questions: Why were non-lethal alternatives, including drone-based surveillance and assessment, not deployed? Why did command decisions fail at the most basic level?

The CPSL also notes with deep dismay that the honourable Minister of Justice and National Integration has not visited a single one of the prisons that come under his purview, since his appointment.

The outbreak at Negombo Prison is a symptom of a wider malaise. These include:

1. Extreme Overcrowding: Negombo Prison, designed for 650–680 inmates, was forced to house 2,600. Prisoners reported severe shortages of toilets, with up to 60 inmates queuing for a single facility. Nationally, the system built for 10,000–11,000 inmates now holds 39,000–41,000. This level of overcrowding is not mismanagement, it is institutional collapse.

2. Medical Neglect: Prisoners have repeatedly complained of insufficient access to medication. Amid ongoing epidemics, including Dengue Fever, inmates fear for their lives. A correctional system that cannot provide basic medical care is failing in its most fundamental duty.

3. Severe Undermanning: The prison service faces a shortage of 1,500 personnel, worsened by the ongoing recruitment freeze. Officers are overworked, underpaid, and insufficiently motivated due to disgracefully low public sector salaries.

The CPSL holds the Government fully responsible for this disaster. Its willingness to accommodate the draconian austerity conditions of the IMF has crippled recruitment across the public service, including the prison system. These externally imposed constraints have prevented the Department of Prisons from fulfilling its basic obligations to inmates and staff.

This tragedy is yet another proof of the Government’s incompetence and inability to govern. A regime that cannot protect those in its custody cannot claim moral or administrative legitimacy.

The CPSL calls upon the Government, Ministry of Justice, and Department of Prisons to:

1. Conduct an independent, transparent investigation into the Negombo Prison incident, with findings released to the public.

2. Hold accountable all officials whose actions or negligence contributed to the loss of life.

3. Provide immediate medical care, protection, and humane treatment to all inmates.

4. Implement urgent structural reforms to address overcrowding, understaffing, and medical shortages.

5. Transition toward a restorative justice model, reducing recidivism and strengthening social reintegration.

6. Reject externally imposed austerity measures that undermine national sovereignty and public safety.

The CPSL urges calm among the public and calls upon all stakeholders, including prison staff, families, civil society, and human rights organisations, to cooperate with investigative processes. The Party reaffirms its commitment to defending human dignity and ensuring that Sri Lanka’s institutions serve the people with justice, compassion, and accountability.