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The highly controversial Antiterrorism Bill is subject to amendments and changes in Parliament and as such no one should have any fear or feeling of threat from the proposed Bill, Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.

The government is aware of concerns raised by the global and local community on certain provisions contained in the draft of the Anti-terrorism Bill and the Government is ready to alleviate them by discussion, compromise and flexibility, he added.

Addressing a news conference at the Information Department auditorium, Minister Rajapakshe said the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) passed in 1979 under President J.R. Jayewardene’s rule as a temporary measure to counter the emerging separatist insurgency. The PTA has been misused and exploited by successive Governments since then for their personal and political advantage.

“That is why we expect to replace the PTA which had been branded as a draconian piece of legislation with the ATA.

“If there are any provisions that restrict the rights of the people, their freedom and democracy, the Government is more than happy to address them. Besides, any citizen, political party or organization is free to challenge the Bill in the Supreme Court once I table it in Parliament,” Minister Rajapakshe emphasized.

Responding to Daily Mirror, Minister Rajapakshe said the ATA had been drafted in accordance with international conventions and covenants dealing with fundamental, human and political rights with the main objective of preventing attempts of terrorism in future.

The Government is cognizant of the concerns raised by the local and global community and does the needful to address them, Minister Dr. Rajapakshe assured.

Most of the provisions found in the PTA such as the acceptance of confessions as evidence against a suspect have been removed in the new Bill.

“If a suspect is taken in under the new law and wants to confess, he or she can do it to a Magistrate voluntarily. The provision that has given the power to DIGS to issue Detention Orders (DOS) on a terrorist suspect is subject to change and retains it only with the Minister of Defence.

“The government expects to use the ATA to promote reconciliation and inter-communal harmony in Sri Lanka which was also the wish of the UNHRC, EU and the UNHRC. Minister Rajapakshe stressed.

“I prefer if the power to issue DOS reserved only under the Defense Minister. These laws can be used by any future government and will be counter-productive against any opposition if we introduce draconian laws for short-term exploitation,” Minister Dr. Rajapakshe noted. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Anti-terrorism-Bill-will-be-changed/108-257993

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WhatsApp users are no longer restricted to using their account on just a single phone. Today, the Meta-owned messaging service is announcing that its multi-device feature — which previously allowed you to access and send messages from additional Android tablets, browsers, or computers alongside your primary phone — is expanding to support additional smartphones. “One WhatsApp account, now across multiple phones” is how the service describes the feature, which it says is rolling out to everyone in the coming weeks.

Setting up a secondary phone to use with your WhatsApp account happens after doing a fresh install of the app. Except, rather than entering your phone number during setup and logging in as usual, you instead tap a new “link to existing account” option. This will generate a QR code to be scanned by your primary WhatsApp phone via the “link a device” option in settings. The new feature works across both iOS and Android devices.

WhatsApp is pitching the feature as a useful tool for small businesses that might want multiple employees to be able to send and receive messages from the same business number via different phones. But it should be useful for anyone who uses multiple smartphones on a regular basis and wants them all to be associated with the same WhatsApp account.

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/WhatsApp-adds-option-to-use-the-same-account-on-multiple-phones/108-258174

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• Falsely accused by racist elements for alleged illegal sterilisation, Kurunegala Teaching Hospital doctor says racism will not take country or organisation forward except make poor people suffer more; calls on all to make Sri Lanka racism-free

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has commended Dr. Mohamed Shafi Shihabdeen over his gesture of donating the past salaries amounting to Rs. 2.6 million during his suspension and imprisonment on false charges to buy essential medicines.

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga

Dr. Mohamed Shafi Shihabdeen

Following a Court order, the Ministry of Health last week paid overdue wages of Dr. Shafi who in turn said will donate the funds to Kurunegala Teaching Hospital to buy urgent medicines, sending a strong message to racists and crooks who framed baseless allegation that he performed illegal sterilisation operations at his workplace the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.

Subsequently, the CID informed the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court in July 2019 that investigations carried out had not proven any of the allegations that had been raised against Dr. Shihabdeen.

On Monday, former President Kumaratunga in a Twitter message said: “A shameful Chapter of Sinhala extremism clothed in lies, jealousy and hatred has ruined the life of a good professional. Congratulations Dr.Safi for your response to the hatred spewed at you. All right-thinking Sinhala citizens pay homage to you.”

Kumaratunga was the only popular politician to have publicly commended Dr. Shafi’s act which has won widespread praise in social media. 

On his part Dr. Shafi said the character assignation suffered by him was unprecedented and racism will not take a country or organisation forward except make poor people suffer more. “Therefore, we all must help to make Sri Lanka a racism-free nation,” he added. 

He said despite the racist attacks and accusations he bears no hatred towards anyone, nor does he curse anyone. But he urged all not to attack professionals and people with a racist attitude or baseless allegations.  

After being cleared by the Court, Dr. Shafi was reinstated subsequently. The payment of Rs. 2.6 million included the basic salary, interim allowance, cost of living, and allowance in lieu of pension for the period of compulsory leave imposed on Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen.

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Dr. Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, the doctor at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital has decided to donate arrears of his salary amounting over Rs. 2.67 million for the purchase of essential medicines for hospitals.

Dr. Shafi who was on compulsory leave on charges of performing infertility surgery, has received a cheque of over Rs. 2.67 million salary arrears from the Health Ministry last week.

The salary arrears include the basic salary, interim allowance, cost of living, and allowance in lieu of pension for the period of compulsory leave imposed on Dr. Sihabdeen.

Dr. Shafi who was employed at the Kurunegala teaching hospital was arrested on May 25th, 2019, on charges of performing infertility surgery.
On July 25, 2019, the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court ordered that the doctor be released on bail.

The Public Services Commission in December 2021 decided to reinstate Dr. Shafi and instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Health to pay arrears of his salary for the period he was sent on compulsory leave.

Dr. Shafi donates arrears of his salary to purchase medicines for hospitals - Breaking News | Daily Mirror

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• This Govt. nurtured thug-like monks promoted them and deployed them in various  places
• Certain monks have severe psychological wounds
• If  society isn’t healed cases of domestic violence, harassment and child  abuse will be on the rise
• Reconciliation  was about having workshops, providing a report and earning dollars
• Accountability  has not been included in the Constitution or the Judicial system
• Terrorism  sprouts in a country that has no justice

Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thera who currently heads the Walpola Rahula Institute for Buddhist Studies has been addressing issues related to social justice and harmony while promoting an inclusive and plural society. Having gathered a wealth of experience during the height of war for instance and having encountered various incidents during his lifetime, Ven. Dhammananda Thera has been preaching on the practice of social healing for quite some time. He has also been quite vocal about conventional Buddhist approaches that most people tend to follow and the damage done to society as a result of diverting from Buddha’s teachings.  “We are a wounded society. A society that doesn’t have its wounds healed would only know to seek solutions through wounds,” he said in an interview with the Daily Mirror.

Excerpts :

Q The incumbent Government used the Sinhala-Buddhist ideology as a shield to win votes. What are your observations?

The incumbent regime and successive regimes have harped on the Sinhala-Buddhist ideology. But this time it was used dangerously and it was used against the Muslim community. They portrayed Muslims as a threat and tried to group Sinhala-Buddhists as one lot and the rest of the ethnicities as enemies. This government used the Sinhala-Buddhist shield to its maximum benefit.

Q We saw how the President took oaths at the Ruwanweli Seya, the day before May 9 the former Prime Minister visited Anuradhapura, they put pirith to distract slogans chanted by protesters in front of Temple Trees. Don’t you think the Rajapaksas used Buddhism as a weapon?

How I see it is that they used religion without any respect or ethical consideration. In order to spread wrong information about the Muslim community, they held workshops for monks. At these workshops, they showed videos of Boko Haram and videos based on Islam extremism. Thereafter they would advise monks to allocate around 10-15 minutes from their bana sermons to talk about Islam extremism. This was done several months before the election. Many monks in various outstation areas have complained to me about this and they confessed that they allocated some time from their sermons to talk about extremism. The sermon was never misused in this manner. A lay person invites a monk to his home to find some peace, but this Government spread hatred among people by compelling monks to talk about religious extremism. I have never seen Buddhism being used in such a violent manner ever before. They also nurtured thug-like monks, promoted them and deployed them in various places.

Q Many prominent Buddhist monks also supported the incumbent government…

Many Buddhist monks instilled fear among the people. Then the Easter Sunday attacks happened and what they were preaching became a reality. It happened at an unexpected moment. So there was fear and people needed security and someone to protect them.

Q Do you think that by entering politics, Buddhist monks have distorted Buddha’s teachings or the philosophy itself?

Buddhist monks started doing politics way back in 1946. But here the situation was different. During the colonial era, Buddhists were an oppressed segment of people. Therefore, several monks representing the oppressed segments of society entered politics through the Vidyalankara Pirivena. They brought a theoretical approach to it and said that it is the responsibility of the monks to give a voice to oppressed people, despite it being called politics or anything else. Their responsibility was to voice for the oppressed irrespective of taking positions or power or contest at an election. During the Free Education struggle, it was the monks who played a pivotal role in pushing the then Government to discuss the Free Education Act which was halted for three years. These monks had a newspaper called ‘Kaalaya’ (Time) and one of the resolutions passed during a meeting was that monks who did not engage in politics can continue to thrive from alms offered by the wealthy and that they are not eligible to receive alms offered by the poor. Therefore politics for them was about voicing for the oppressed. However, this idea was later distorted to a point where it had no direction and monks started going after power and money. Today’s monks don’t have any idea about why monks joined politics back in 1946.

Q We are witnessing a people’s struggle and a public uprising. How can monks contribute to politics from now onwards?

Monks should go beyond religiosity and extremism. Buddhism talks about an ecosystem that goes beyond the human species. If they cannot address the ecosystem they should concentrate on humans and keep in mind that nobody is superior to one another. That they cannot be differentiated based on race, religion, gender etc.

Q Let’s talk about the war and its aftermath. You have always said that we are a wounded society. We suffer from trauma. But we don’t see victims and survivors being remembered during so-called victory parades. The war has been glorified and most memories have been erased. What sort of impact do these kinds of events have on society like ours?

As I have said before, we are a society that has been wounded. These wounds can either be direct or inter-generationally transmitted wounds. My ancestors were displaced during the 1818 Uva-Wellassa rebellion and they moved towards forest areas in the Eastern Province. These would have been women and survivors of the rebellion and I always try to imagine how difficult it would have been to leave their ancestral homes behind. Since I haven’t experienced this I don’t know how their wounds were healed. But this society continues to live with sore wounds. A society that doesn’t have its wounds healed would only know to seek solutions through wounds. If they come across a problem, they will resort to using their power to suppress another and resolve the matter. This was witnessed during 1971, ‘88/’89 insurrections and the 30-year ethnic conflict and after destroying everything with weapons, they are ready to pack and leave.

The funny part is that those war victors are now ruling this country and the country is now in dire straits, worse than Bangladesh. According to them, the problem was the war and they said this country will be developed once it is over. Everybody talks about constructing highways but we need to look at the progress of people first. It has to start with education but this education system worsens the wounds further. Teachers should be healed first but this change doesn’t come in the form of a document. It should be a continuous process that should span for around 10 years. We have a new Prime Minister, but bringing dollars alone won’t resolve this problem. Healing is a must. If not cases of domestic violence, harassment, workplace harassment and child abuse will be on the rise. With all these, there’s no point in bringing dollars to the country.

Q Don’t you think that the word ‘reconciliation’ has been misused?

Yes. During this process, we didn’t have words in our vocabulary. They used English/foreign terms and concepts. The English term was translated to Sinhala but they didn’t even know the concept. As a result, they introduced foreign concepts and it was something completely new.

There were issues in the mechanism but many NGO groups earned dollars through these projects. They would hold workshops, provide a report and get their dollars. This was what they called reconciliation. But our institute also got involved in this healing process but we were of the stance that money is not important during the reconciliation process.

The programme we conducted was called the Rahula-Thangarajah Twin School programme. When Walpola Rahula Thera was selected to University as the first Buddhist monk back in 1930 he was sidelined by the Buddhist community. It was a Tamil gentleman named Saravanamuttu Thangarajah who helped Ven. Rahula to continue his studies.

They were good friends and we named this programme in honour of their friendship. For this programme, we merged two schools, namely the Therankandal Tamil School, Thunukkai and Halmillawetiya Vidyalaya in Kebithigollawa.

We worked in both schools for around six months and merged the schools. We travelled in buses, ate what they gave us and slept where we could. So, we were similar to them. We initially donated a water filter to the Therankandal School through the support of well-wishers. We subsequently brought these children to Horana for a workshop and we had collected around Rs. 375,000. The total budget was around Rs. 1.3 million. We had to bring them in five buses, provide accommodation, and meals and we had to pay for translators.

I wanted to do something practical and somebody suggested that we invite the owner of the Wasana Bakers. He was abducted during the height of the war and was taken away by the Army. Upon hearing his story the soldier had released him. After running for dear life, he later returned to his village during Chandrika Bandaranaike’s tenure. He has subsequently started working at a bakery and had learned everything from scratch. Having commenced his journey by providing sponge cake to latex cultivators, Wasana Bakers today is a flourishing business in the bakery industry.

Since I was impressed by this story I visited him and invited him to speak to the children. He was quite surprised because all that while he had had visitors coming to ask for money. Subsequently, he provided us with his wedding hall which was established to host functions of their staff. The programme was a success. Likewise, everybody who contributed had been affected by the war in many ways than one. One of the translators was a Muslim lady and she was a single mother too. She provided her support on a voluntary basis and therefore we were able to travel via Kandy as per the request of the children at Therankandal School. This was our reconciliation model. We have to solve an issue even if we are hungry. But we can’t solve an issue just by taking money from a neighbour. Therefore, the reconciliation model in Sri Lanka is a money-making business and therefore it’s a failure.

Q When we talk about reconciliation we only talk about the North and East. Similar incidents happened in the South as well. But today, the Offices on Missing Persons etc., don’t function efficiently. What are your thoughts?

Abductions and killings have been the order of the day. Three monks whom I knew were abducted this way. One of them was abducted in Dehiwela. An eyewitness told me that ‘Podi Hamuduruwo’ was abducted while on the bus. To date, I don’t know his whereabouts. Two other monks by the names Denagama Pangnaloka, Koradikumbure Gnanaloka had also been abducted and are missing to date. Nobody talks about them. If we can give a colour to the breath of people whose loved ones have gone missing, we’ll be able to see how dark this atmosphere is. 
This is like a mass grave but we continue to light incense sticks and move forward. We are trying to forget these memories. Anybody can forget the incident but they cannot forget the memories that resulted from the incident. We meet these wounded individuals as drivers, passengers etc. These wounds result in aggression and violence.

Q Are we too late to introduce proper healing techniques to these individuals?

Since we are facing a socio-economic crisis at present, we should look at incorporating healing practices within a probable system change.

Q Even though religious places could give some kind of healing, we see people going to temples to post pictures of their offerings, mostly as a trend. Where have we gone wrong?

I believe that there are wounded individuals at religious institutions as well. Certain monks have  severe psychological wounds. During the Imperial era, they lived in fear thinking that they would be extinct. During colonial invasions they become oppressed. Thereafter they have this oppressed mindset. Monks got involved during the insurrections and monks were targeted during the ethnic conflict as well. Therefore they fear whether they would be extinct. Even in Mahavamsa monks have been attributed to protecting the country and the Sāsana. Whenever some monks establish an Organisation, they have several keywords; either it’s something to do with protecting the Sāsana or the motherland.

A farmer protects his paddy field from wild beasts. By saying that they are protecting the Sāsana itself shows that the Sāsana will end and that it has enemies. Then there are wounds when monks are ordained at a younger age, they have wounds since they don’t have a chance to enjoy their youth. The temple is the place that has all these wounds. Someone with a wound goes to another person with a wound to tell their sorrows. I’m not blaming anyone. But I feel that monks should accept the fact that they have been wounded and heal themselves first. I feel that instead of healing a wounded society, they have transformed this society into a marketplace. Therefore we can sell various things to this wounded society such as pirith nool,nisaka dathu wandana etc. Religion includes teachings that bring about spiritual healing but we can bring about healing only if monks accept that they too have been wounded.

Q Doesn’t ordaining novice monks fall under harassment against children?

We have to understand that children are not in a position to make decisions about their life. On the other hand, children are safest when they are with their parents. If children are not safe with their parents, then they belong to the State. If a child is being taken from a safe environment to another guardian, there has to be a mechanism in place. It should happen via the National Child Protection Authority. If I want to take a child under my custody then I should appeal to the NCPA and the NCPA should monitor whether I have sound mental health and whether a child would be safe around me and the environment in which he has to live in.

They should observe the visitors who come here, they should check if I have the time to attend to the child etc. If all these eligibility criteria have been ticked then I’m eligible to have a child under my guardianship. Thereafter if two parents like to hand over a child this should happen in the presence of NCPA officials. Subsequently, these officers should visit every three months to see if he is in a secure environment until the child turns 18. Ordaining as a life decision. If the child wants to reverse his decision, he should be allowed to do so. If he has only studied Pali verses then he cannot face life afterwards. In the end, he should be able to make a healthy decision.

Q Do you think religious places are safe for children?

This depends from place to place. There’s no place that can be a safer place for children than with their parents. When it comes to a religious place, religious leaders have less time to allocate to children. A child needs love, affection and care. But I know some places that look after novice monks and children very well. On the other hand, the family unit in a wounded society has been shattered in most instances. Children are at the receiving end in situations like this and as a result, the child is insecure. Therefore we cannot generalize based on whether a child ends up in a good place or a bad place. We need to put secure mechanisms in place so that children are brought up in safer environments.

Q Let’s talk about the ongoing people’s protests. This is perhaps the first non-violent, peaceful protest that happened in history. But things took a violent turn during the Vesak week. What are your thoughts?

The unprecedented socio-economic crisis brought people towards a common ground. People were inconvenienced due to a shortage of essential items, medicine, fuel etc. It is in this backdrop that people commenced this struggle. People started chanting slogans and it was a non-violent protest. But like during every other instance, the rulers used violence to disrupt the protest. This happened during the 1950s when people requested to include Tamil as an official language. The difference is that this time due to advancements in technology, the whole of the citizenry witnessed the violence, thanks to social media. People knew that the peaceful protesters were voicing everyone’s rights. Everybody felt like they were being attacked.

Q There are many discussions taking place at the Galle Face protest site. Is it a starting point to usher in a new era of governance?

Accountability has not been included in the Constitution or the Judicial system. No politician has been imprisoned for corruption. In that case, everybody should be corrupt. The Constitution should give power to the people. People are in fact like slaves and we have rulers. But we should be citizens and we send a representative to voice on behalf of citizens’ rights. I think this started from GotaGoGama. I don’t know where it is heading. Initially, there were people with various political mindsets and later on, people with extremist ideas too found their ground at the protest site. Therefore I cannot say whether there is one common idea being resonated from the protest site. But I appreciate its positive approaches.

Q We have always witnessed a political culture based on promises. Do you think these people’s protests would bring about a shift in people’s mindsets?

Nothing has been done to bring about a shift in people’s mindsets. The incumbent regime doesn’t care much about the Galle Face protest because their mandate is being decided by people who can be bought over a lunch packet or other short term incentive. The only progressive aspect is that this time people are more knowledgeable about politics thanks to social media. There could be certain changes in this regard in Colombo and suburbs, but in rural areas, people will still be faithful to those who rule their electorates.

Q Justice has become a buzzword. With all that is going on, can we heal ourselves in time to come?

Terrorism sprouts in a country that has no justice. This is what happened on May 9. When the mobsters attacked Galle Face protesters, violence emerged in other parts of the country. This is what happened throughout history. Nobody apologized for the 30-year ethnic conflict. Easter Sunday attacks were a terrible disaster that wounded the Christian and Catholic communities. They feel that they are accountable for the lives that have been lost. Without justice, we can’t move forward. Even though we say this repeatedly we don’t learn this lesson. We should accept that we have been wounded and that we need to heal together.

https://www.dailymirror.lk/recomended-news/Govt-used-Sinhala-Buddhist-shield-to-its-maximum-benefit-Ven-Galkande-Dhammananda-Thera/277-238564

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The Ministry of Health today gave an undertaking before the Court of Appeal that the salary and allowances payable to Dr. Shafi  Shihabdeen will be paid before July 10 this year.

The Ministry of Health gave this undertaking pursuant to a writ petition filed by Dr. Shafi  Shihabdeen, who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding the alleged sterilisation of female patients.

The Director General of Establishment at the Ministry of Public Services had earlier informed the Court that the basic salary, interim allowance, cost of living and allowance in lieu of pension could be paid to Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, for the compulsory leave period.

Meanwhile, the petitioner expressed willingness to attend the preliminary inquiry before Director of Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Dr. Chandana Kendangamuwa.

Taking into consideration the facts, the Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Justice Dhammika Ganepola decided to terminate the case proceedings following the petitioner’s decision to withdraw it.

The petitioner, a gynecologist attached to Kurunegala Teaching Hospital said he has been arbitrarily and unlawfully placed under compulsory leave from his employment without just cause and without legal authority.

Director of Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Dr. Chandana Kendangamuwa, Dr. A. M. S. Weera Bandara Former Director of Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. S. H. Munasinghe, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunaratne were named as respondents.

The petitioner said he was a victim of a hateful, malicious and racially charged campaign that he was alleged of conducting sterilization procedures on females which would render females being barren.

The petitioner stated that said allegations have been disputed as being unscientific and false contemporaneously by experts in the field of Gynecology and Obstetrics including Obstetricians and Gynecologists (VOGs).

Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena PC with State Counsel Medhaka Fernando appeared for the Attorney General.

President's Counsel Faiz Mustapha with Counsel Pulasthi Rupasinghe, Hafeel Farisz instructed by Sanjeewa Kaluarachchi appeared for the petitioner. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)

https://www.dailymirror.lk/latest_news/Health-ministry-to-pay-back-wages-for-Dr-Shafi-before-July-10/342-238620?fbclid=IwAR2aDf0-vo7GX5axTRltHrBoinUyuKJDW9mQufPwg0U8xwfj9PNANy6QwhM

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A Sri Lankan court has ordered the release on bail of a lawyer arrested over his alleged links to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings and held for nearly two years on charges rights groups say lacked credible evidence.

Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested in April 2020 and accused of being linked to the attacks on churches and hotels that left 279 people dead.

But after prosecutors failed to provide evidence of his involvement in the attacks, blamed on a local group, he was instead charged with inciting “racial hatred” under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Monday’s decision comes just weeks before his case was due to be discussed at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, according to diplomats.

Dozens of rights groups have campaigned for his freedom, and his detention has been highlighted by the European Parliament.

Local rights activist Bhavani Fonseka said news of Hizbullah’s impending release was “welcome”, but called for changes at the PTA, which had allowed his indefinite detention without trial.

“This should not distract from the need to repeal the PTA with a clear signal from the European Union and others that token reforms will not suffice,” Fonseka said on Twitter.

Hizbullah has made a name for himself as a vocal advocate of Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community.

He earned the ire of the island nation’s ruling family after successfully challenging an effort to return former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power during a constitutional crisis in 2018.

The following year, Mahinda was appointed prime minister after his younger brother Gotabaya won the presidential elections.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/7/sri-lanka-to-free-lawyer-jailed-nearly-two-years-without-trial

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Attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah today left from remand custody after fulfilling his bail conditions before Puttlalam High Court.

He was incarcerated for 22 months for allegedly committing offences come under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.Last Monday (07), the Court of Appeal ordered to release Hizbullah on bail pursuant to a revision application filed on behalf him.Hizbullah was ordered to be released on a cash bail of Rs.100,000 with two sureties of Rs.500,000 by Puttlalam High Court Judge Kumari Abeyratne. He was further ordered to report to the DIG office of Puttalam Police Division every second and fourth Sunday of every month.An indictment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act has now been served on Hejaaz Hizbullah. According to the indictment, Hizbullah is accused of making certain statements to students in contravention of these laws. He was arrested in April 2020. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Hejaaz-Hizbullah-leaves-from-remand-custody/108-230811

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The Court of Appeal today ordered to release Attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah on bail after nearly two years in detention and remand custody.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal directed the Puttalam High Court to release Hejaaz Hizbullah on bail with suitable bail conditions.

The Court of Appeal two-judge-bench comprising Justice Menaka Wijesundera and Justice Neil Iddawala made this order taking into consideration a revision application filed on behalf of Hejaaz Hizbullah.

The Attorney General did not raise objections to release Hizbullah on bail.

On January 28, an application made by the defence requesting to release Attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah on bail was rejected by Puttalam High Court.

The High Court Judge Kumari Abeyrathne refused to grant bail citing that she has no jurisdiction to grant bail under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

This revision application had been filed on behalf of Attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah seeking an order to release him on bail.

An indictment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act has now been served on Hejaaz Hizbullah. According to the indictment, Hizbullah is accused of making certain statements to students in contravention of these laws.

Hizbullah is charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He was arrested in April 2020.

Romesh de Silva PC with Niran Anketell and Shanaka Cooray instructed by Sanath Wijewardena appeared for Hejaaz Hizbullah

Additional Solicitor General Rohantha Abeysuriya PC with Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama represented the Attorney General. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)

https://www.dailymirror.lk/top_story/Court-of-Appeal-grants-bail-on-Hejaaz-Hizbullah/155-230596