Writ petition by Suresh Sallay postponed to July 10

The Court of Appeal today (11) postponed further consideration of a writ petition filed by former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Salley until July 10.

Salley had sought a writ order to invalidate the detention order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) following his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

Appearing on behalf of Salley, President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena presented submissions outlining how the ideology of the ISIS terrorist group had allegedly operated within Sri Lanka.

He told court that intelligence had revealed 39 Sri Lankans had travelled to Syria and joined ISIS, adding that former Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had also made statements in Parliament regarding the matter.

The counsel further alleged that although investigations into the vandalism of Buddha statues in Mawanella had revealed links to a foreign extremist ideology, former CID Director Shani Abeysekara had failed to conduct proper investigations.

He argued that despite evidence suggesting ideological involvement by an international terrorist organisation, authorities failed to seek assistance from international policing agencies or pursue further inquiries.

Jayawardena also cited an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court by former State Intelligence Service chief Nilantha Jayawardena, which stated that 97 intelligence reports regarding extremist activities involving Zahran Hashim and his group had been submitted to the Inspector General of Police between April 20, 2016, and April 30, 2019.

According to the submissions, a list of 129 individuals allegedly supporting extremist activities had also been provided, but former CID officials, including Shani Abeysekara and former Senior Deputy Inspector General Ravi Seneviratne, allegedly failed to act on the warnings.

The court also heard that Indian intelligence agencies had informed Sri Lankan authorities on April 4, 2019, of a planned suicide bombing, knife attack, and truck attack targeting churches, tourist hotels, and the Indian High Commission in Colombo and surrounding areas, allegedly involving Zahran Hashim and his followers.

Jayawardena argued that despite the intelligence warnings, the relevant authorities failed to carry out adequate investigations and maintained that no inquiry or commission report had linked Suresh Salley to the Easter Sunday attacks.

He further stated that a committee headed by former High Court Judge Jayaki de Alwis had recommended legal action against former CID Director Shani Abeysekara and former Deputy Inspector General Ravi Seneviratne for failing to prevent the Easter attacks.

Following submissions, the Court of Appeal ordered that further consideration of the petition be postponed until July 10.