{"id":69310,"date":"2020-06-22T00:35:34","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T05:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=69310"},"modified":"2020-06-22T00:45:48","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T05:45:48","slug":"the-crucial-flaw-affecting-credible-investigation-into-any-high-profile-crime-in-sri-lanka-is-its-capture-by-the-political-arm-of-the-state-kisha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=69310","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cCrucial flaw\u201d affecting credible investigation into any \u2018high profile\u2019 crime in Sri Lanka is its \u201ccapture by the political arm of the State\u201d- Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

As investigators in Sri Lanka move into the \u201cfinal stages\u201d of the probe into the April 2019 Easter terror bombings, concerns over apparent lack of adherence to due process have risen from several quarters.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka police recently said they are about to conclude investigations of the deadly serial bombings that claimed 279 lives last year; having arrested over 200 suspects in connection with the case. However, as more arrests make headlines, lawyers, civil society activists and rights groups flag apparent lapses in adherence to the law. <\/p>\n

In particular, the April 14 arrest of attorney at law Hejaaz Hizbullah has drawn much attention. The lawyer has been in detention for two months after he was arrested under Sri Lanka\u2019s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) that civil liberties activists have long wanted repealed. The former Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government, having promised to repeal the Act, didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arrested on June 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neither was a reason given at the time of his arrest \u2014 police later told media that it was in connection with Easter bombings \u2014 nor has he been produced before a magistrate since his arrest nine weeks ago. The Colombo Fort magistrate recently instructed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to produce him on June 24.<\/p>\n

After multiple requests, Mr. Hizbullah was granted access to his lawyers for a few brief meetings, that too in the presence of CID officials, in whose custody he has been.<\/p>\n

According to police sources, the lawyer\u2019s detention order was signed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. \u201cInvestigators will not detain someone without reason or evidence. There has been no violation of due process in this probe,\u201d police spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jaliya Senaratne told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, his family has filed a fundamental rights petition at the Supreme Court, challenging his detention. Further, the arrest of the lawyer \u2014 an establishment critic, who rose to prominence after the 2018 constitutional case challenging then President Sirisena\u2019s abrupt dissolution of the Parliament \u2014 sparked concern among local and international actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost alarmingly, Mr. Hizbullah has been denied access to his family and even lawyers except for a brief 15 minutes with an Attorney-at-Law under the scrutiny of an eavesdropping CID officer. This does not constitute due access to one\u2019s lawyer,\u201d a statement signed by 158 lawyers said. Civil society representatives issued a statement saying, \u201cthe most troubling aspect\u201d of the arrest was CID officers having allegedly accessed two case files of Mr. Hizbullah, which amounted to a \u201csevere impingement of attorney-client privilege\u201d.<\/p>\n

EU\u2019s remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a tweet on May 26, the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka said it had written to Sri Lankan authorities expressing \u201cdeep concerns\u201d over Mr. Hizbullah\u2019s arrest, while renewing calls to review Sri Lanka\u2019s 40-year-old counterterrorism legislation [PTA].<\/p>\n

Citing his arrest, among other incidents, in its recent report on \u2018eliminating religious intolerance\u2019, Human Rights watchdog Amnesty International said: \u201cWith the new government still in its first year, the frequent incidents of demonisation, vilification and scapegoating of Sri Lanka\u2019s Muslim population are a cause for great concern,\u201d referring to different instances of discrimination and violence targeting Sri Lanka\u2019s Muslims in the last few years.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Mr. Hizbullah has been questioned in connection with the terror blasts. In May last year, the CID team probing the case \u2014 it was reshuffled after the November 2019 elections \u2014 obtained statements from him \u201ca few times\u201d, a source familiar with the investigation told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hizbullah had been counsel for spice trader Y.M. Ibrahim\u2019s family \u2014 his two sons were among the nine suicide bombers who carried out the Easter attacks \u2014 on business matters. Investigators found \u201cno evidence of any other link\u201d with the Ibrahims, the source told The Hindu, requesting anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n

It is not only Mr. Hizbullah\u2019s arrest that is being questioned. Last month, at least three fundamental rights petitions were filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, on behalf of minor boys, challenging the \u201cintimidation\u201d and \u201coppressive behaviour\u201d of the CID, when it interrogated them on the activities of a charity that Mr. Hizbullah was involved with, which reportedly funded the madrassa they attended in Puttalam town.<\/p>\n

While Sri Lankans, including government critics, would like to see the Easter investigations completed, it is due process that will inspire public faith in the outcome, legal experts observed.<\/p>\n

According to senior constitutional lawyer and civil liberties columnist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, the \u201ccrucial flaw\u201d affecting credible investigation into any \u2018high profile\u2019 crime in Sri Lanka, not just the Easter Sunday bombings, is its \u201ccapture by the political arm of the State\u201d. \u201cPublic faith in the transparency of the Easter Sunday investigation now, as well as the Parliamentary Select Committee charade during the previous regime, is minimal because in the final outcome, these politicians protect each other,\u201d she told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Due process, she said, means that, at the time of arrest, state agents must have credible and objective reasons for arrest, not that, after the arrest, \u201csomething is cooked up\u201d as a justification. \u201cWe have handled scores of constitutional violations where the Supreme Court has very clearly laid down this principle. But none of these seem to matter anymore. Lawyers themselves risk punitive punishment for following their professional pursuits,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan As investigators in Sri Lanka move into the \u201cfinal stages\u201d of the probe into the April 2019 Easter terror bombings, concerns over apparent lack of adherence to due process have risen from several quarters. Sri Lanka police recently said they are about to conclude investigations of the deadly serial bombings that claimed …<\/p>\n

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