By Dinitha Rathnayake

A group of lawyers will today (18) alert the Judicial Services Commission, which is entrusted with safeguarding the independence of judges, about an attempt being made to remove the protestors in front of the Presidential Secretariat at “GotaGoGama” through a court order provided by a magistrate who was appointed recently, The Morning learnt.

The group, called the “Lawyers Forum for the People”, claimed that lawyers backing the Government are currently preparing the necessary documents to obtain this court order, with the intention of confining the protest to the “agitation zone” set up in early 2020 in front of the Shangri-La Hotel. It was also said that the particular magistrate has close links to the Government.

The magistrate in question had been appointed to his current position in early April, shortly after the Mirihana protests and at the beginning of the wave of protests islandwide.

The magistrate had previously been charged with a number of offences, including unauthorised use of firearms, was also accused of allegedly possessing an elephant cub without a license, and faced prosecution during the previous “Good Governance” regime.

He was arrested and remanded for a certain period and subjected to a suspension of service.

However, he was acquitted of all charges in December last year.

Courtesy:The Morning