(Lanka-e-News -25.March.2016, 9.10AM) The chairman of Ports, Dhammika Ranatunge who recently scolded and threatened a journalist attached to SL Rupavahini Corporation in the vicinity of the High court , appeared in court yesterday(24) in response to a notice issued on him by court . The Colombo chief magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya while severely reprimanding the chairman , ordered him to furnish two personal sureties in sums of Rs. 100,000.00 each before enlarging him on bail.
Addressing Dhammika Ranatunge (the accused) , the chief magistrate bemoaned ,‘if an individual like you can behave like this within the premises of the court which is run on public funds , it can be imagined how you are conducting yourself within the Ports Authority.’ The chief magistrate also went on to warn ,’ it is your brother who has appointed you to the post .Hence behave in a manner that would safeguard his reputation and learn to behave within court premises.’
The chief magistrate also questioned the police why the accused was granted the special privilege to go, without getting him to arrive at the Keselwatte police to record his statement on the 17 th itself –the day of the incident , while ordering Dhammika Ranatunge to make his statement to the police today itself.
It was also ordered by the chief magistrate that the mobile phone of Dhammika Ranatunge that was allegedly used to video record the journalist within court premises be handed over immediately to the court as ‘court production.’
Further hearing was postponed until the 28 th of July.
It is significant to note that a large number of lawyers who reckoned this misconduct of Dhammika Ranatunge as a threat to media freedom and pressures exerted on the legal system , appeared for the journalist free of charge.
The relevant video footage is herein
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by (2016-03-25 03:48:44)
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