(Excerpted from the “Sunday Times”Political Column of 15th March 2026)
The arrest and detention of the former State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, over his alleged links to the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks have continued to draw criticism, with critics calling it a witch-hunt.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told the Fort Magistrate’s Court there were three main allegations in connection with investigations related to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. These include allegations that Maj. Gen. Sallay misled investigations into the Vavunathivu police killings and the Sainthamaruthu explosion; an intelligence informant was allegedly used to show the Katuwapitiya church to terrorists prior to the day of the attacks; and the former SIS chief had attempted to influence investigators to conduct a third DNA test related to Sara Jasmine, the widow of Mohammed Hashtun, who carried out a suicide bomb attack on St Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, despite two earlier tests failing to confirm her death following the Sainthamaruthu explosion.
At a news conference on Thursday, a group of supporters of Maj. Gen. Sallay, including one of his lawyers, refuted these allegations and accused the CID of fabricating evidence.
Questions were also raised about the detention conditions of Maj. Gen. Sally to please the pro-Eelam diaspora. Allegations that the former SIS chief is being held in inhumane conditions have also been made by his wife S.B.M.S.B. Sallay, who had written to Police Chief Priyantha Weerasooriya on March 7 over the ‘Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment’ to which her husband is being subjected while under detention. She also alleges procedural irregularities in the arrests and detention of her husband.
Here are extracts of the letter sent to the IGP, which has been seen by the Sunday Times:
“On the 25th of February 2026, my husband was arrested whilst travelling to his office and has been kept under a detention order from the 28th of February 2026 to date at the Criminal Investigation Department. On the 26th of February 2026, I wrote to the Director of the CID, retired SSP Mr Shani Abeysekera, requesting access for family visits, permission to provide food from home, and access for legal counsel to meet with my husband.
“In response to my request, the Director CID, by his letter dated 27th February 2026, permitted family visits only on Saturdays between 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., subject to the provision of police clearance reports for the relevant family member. Lawyer consultations were allowed only on Wednesdays between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m., provided that a written request was submitted before 10.00 a.m. on the preceding day. However, the request to provide food from home was refused in the said reply.
“I subsequently wrote again to the Director CID on 28th February 2026, outlining the considerable difficulties encountered in obtaining the required police clearance for the relevant family member, as well as the severe mental pressure and hardship caused to the family due to the distressing conditions imposed for visitations.
“In this regard, I respectfully wish to inform you that although we made the necessary representations to the Kohuwela Police in order to obtain a Police Clearance Certificate for our son to visit his father, the said certificate has not been issued to date.
“However, CI Gunasekera, who introduced himself as the Chief Investigating Officer in the case against my husband and whom I contacted on 28th February, informed me that our son would nevertheless be allowed to visit his father on the same day. Our son was permitted to speak to his father for approximately half an hour, under the supervision of three CID officers.
“I also wish to place on record that on 04th March 2026, the Attorney-at-Law scheduled to visit my husband was contacted by CI Gunasekara, the Investigating Officer, and requested to attend the CID premises at 2.00 p.m. for consultation. The Attorney-at-Law complied with this request and was thereafter taken to the Special Unit, which is located separately from the main CID building. Regrettably, the consultation was conducted in a manner wholly inconsistent with the confidentiality and privilege inherent in an Attorney–Client relationship.
“Today, (March 7), my son visited the CID at approximately 10.40 a.m. in order to see his father. He was requested by officers at the gate to fill out a form seeking approval for the visit. After waiting for approximately three hours, he was informed that “higher authorities” had not granted approval for him to visit his father.
“However, my husband’s brother, retired Major Tuan Fazeer Sallay, a disabled war veteran of the Commando Regiment, was granted permission to visit him. I have been informed by my brother-in-law that my husband complained to him of being subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment by the administrative arm of the CID.
“My husband has stated that his cell was changed after the lawyer consultation on the 4th of March and that he has been placed in a rat-infested cell which is extremely hot and poorly ventilated, making it almost impossible to breathe. He has also developed severe migraine headaches as a result of these conditions and has not been provided with medication. He has further complained that he is being subjected to psychological pressure to give a confession, amounting to mental torture. As a result of these deeply distressing circumstances, I and our children are undergoing severe psychological trauma and emotional distress, caused by the uncertainty surrounding his detention, the restrictions on family contact, and the alarming reports regarding the conditions in which he is being held.”
Mrs Sallay has requested the IGP to record her complaint, the statement of Mr Tuan Fazeer Sallay, and a statement of her husband through an independent police unit which has no attachment to the supervisory powers of the present Director CID to immediately change the place of her husband’s detention; transfer the present investigation against her husband from the CID to another police division over which the present Director CID has no control whatsoever; take immediate steps to produce her husband before a judicial medical officer and a psychiatrist for psychological evaluation; and institute criminal proceedings against those responsible for the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of her husband.
Courtesy:Sunday Times