LEN - www.lankaenews.com | "Attorney General Go Home"..! Tense Response from the Attorney General During Protest..! (Photos)

"Attorney General Go Home"..! Tense Response from the Attorney General During Protest..! (Photos)

(Lanka-e-News -07.Feb.2025, 11.10 PM) A protest was held yesterday in front of the Attorney General's Department under the slogan "Attorney General Go Home." The demonstration, led by media organizations, trade unions, and civil groups, called for a meeting with the Attorney General. However, only five representatives were allowed to enter and submit a letter. Among them was Lal Wickrematunge, brother of Lasantha Wickrematunge.

The five representatives met with a senior state counsel named Rajakaruna. He stated that he was not responsible for the Attorney General's decision to withdraw legal action against the suspects in Lasantha's murder case and suggested that legal recourse could be pursued in court if necessary. The representatives strongly opposed this response, arguing that the Attorney General and the department are accountable to the public since their salaries are funded by taxpayers. Despite the objections, the senior state counsel accepted the letter and returned inside.

Below is a copy of the letter submitted to the Attorney General:

Mr. President’s Counsel Parinda Ranasinghe,
Attorney General,
Attorney General's Department - Colombo.

Dear Attorney General,

Opposing the Arbitrary Decision to Release Suspects in Lasantha Wickrematunge's Murder Case

We, as the Young Journalists' Association, strongly condemn the Attorney General's Department's decision to refrain from taking legal action against the former Deputy Inspector General of Police, an Inspector of Police, and a former army sergeant, all of whom were arrested on suspicion of concealing evidence in the murder of Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge, former editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper.

You, as the Attorney General, made this decision despite your department's own senior state counsel, Janaka Bandara, requesting in 2018 at the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court that bail be denied to these suspects due to sufficient evidence against them. It was indicated that these suspects would be prosecuted for evidence tampering and that investigations were ongoing regarding their involvement in the murder.

One of the suspects, Army officer Kande Gedara Piyawansa, was arrested in 2010 in connection with case number 92/2009 at the Mount Lavinia Magistrate's Court, related to Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder. However, the legal proceedings against him were halted, and he was released. Investigations were subsequently dropped until 2015, when they resumed under the supervision of Mr. Ravi Seneviratne, then Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, Deputy Inspector General Nagahamulla, and later Director Shani Abeysekara of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Your decision to drop charges against the suspects comes just weeks after media organizations and the journalistic community commemorated the anniversary of Lasantha Wickrematunge's assassination on January 8, an act that is both symbolic and concerning.

In 2016, during a parliamentary session, current Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, then an opposition MP, questioned the government about 125 cases related to journalist abductions and murders, following a report presented by then-Minister of Law and Order, Sagala Ratnayaka. After this disclosure, Minister Jayatissa criticized the destruction of evidence in these cases, questioning why no action was taken when it was clear that the evidence was not destroyed by animals but by individuals responsible for these crimes. Now, due to your letter, the suspects arrested for evidence tampering have been released.

Your decision to release these suspects despite the existence of multiple pieces of evidence, including two statements made before the magistrate, is a grave matter. There have been numerous instances where your department has pursued legal action against individuals with far less evidence. Therefore, the public has a serious right to question the reasons behind withholding prosecution in this particular case.

As the Attorney General's Department is maintained with public funds and is meant to serve the interests of the people, we believe that the public has the right to know the reasons behind decisions made by your office.

We urge you to hold a public press conference to clarify the reasons behind this drastic change in stance, especially given that your department acknowledged the presence of evidence in 2018 but has now decided otherwise since your appointment as Attorney General.