Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs
The Minister tabled answers on an incident dated 23 December 2018 linked to the Easter Sunday attacks, stating that names and addresses of suspects and investigating officers would not be disclosed due to ongoing national security-related investigations. He reported varied legal outcomes for suspects, including suspended sentences for six, discharges for several groups, bail for ten pending Attorney General’s instructions, and ongoing High Court trials in Kegalle, Colombo, and Puttalam under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Penal Code. He added that no relevant matter was reported under part (b)(ii) and that part (c) did not arise.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I table the answer.
¶ 02 Answer tabled:
¶ 03 (a) (i) 23.12.2018
¶ 04 (ii) As the incident is linked to the highly sensitive matter of national security relating to the Easter Sunday attacks and investigations are ongoing, it is not appropriate to disclose the names and addresses of suspects at this time.
¶ 05 (iii) - Six suspects: In the Kegalle High Court, upon pleading guilty, they were sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment for each charge and a fine of Rs. 10,000, suspended for 7 years. Case concluded. - Three suspects: In the Kegalle High Court, discharged due to insufficient evidence. - Fourteen suspects: Cases filed in the Kegalle, Colombo and Puttalam High Courts; trials are ongoing. - Fourteen suspects: Discharged in the Mawanella Magistrate’s Court on the Attorney General’s advice. - Ten suspects: Granted bail by the Mawanella High Court on the Attorney General’s advice; filing of indictments pending AG’s instructions. - Three suspects: Cases filed in the Mawanella Magistrate’s Court; released under Section 11(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
¶ 06 (b) (i) As the incident is linked to the highly sensitive matter of national security relating to the Easter Sunday attacks and investigations are ongoing, it is not appropriate to disclose the names of investigating officers at this time.
¶ 07 (ii) Not reported.
¶ 08 (iii) Actions against suspects are as stated under (a)(iii). In the Colombo High Court, indictments under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Sections of the Penal Code have been filed; hearing fixed for 13.02.2025 and next date 12.03.2025. In the Puttalam High Court, indictments under 14 counts of the Prevention of Terrorism Act are being tried; next date 18.03.2025.
¶ 09 (c) Does not arise.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 25 February 2025 ·No. 1741258607035810 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 25 February 2025. No. 1741258607035810. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26580