International Probes Cleared Salley of Easter Attacks Allegations, Says Lawyer

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Court of Appeal today fixed July 17 for the further hearing of a petition filed by former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Salley, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

President's Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena, appearing on behalf of petitioner Suresh Salley, submitted to court that international investigations conducted into the Easter Sunday attacks had revealed that the attacks were not carried out by his client.

He further stated that strong evidence had emerged before the Janak de Silva Commission indicating that Zahran Hashim had been implementing his plan to establish an Islamic State from 2018 onwards.

President's Counsel Jayawardena pointed out that the group had operated based on the ideology of the ISIS terrorist organisation.

He also told court that the report of the Janak de Silva Commission had revealed that one of the objectives of Zahran Hashim and his associates had been to launch an attack on the Kandy Esala Perahera in an attempt to create tensions between the Sinhala and Muslim communities.

The President's Counsel further stated that, according to former Criminal Investigation Department Director Shani Abeysekara, commission reports did not contain evidence linking Suresh Salley to the Easter Sunday attacks.

He also emphasized before court that Sri Lanka had requested assistance from the United States to conduct an independent investigation into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks and that then-US President Donald Trump had confirmed this through his public statements.

President's Counsel Jayawardena told court that 33 FBI officers had travelled to Sri Lanka to assist the Criminal Investigation Department's investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. He said the FBI officers had supported a range of investigative activities, including the analysis of digital devices and obtaining information from victims.

He noted that during the period in which those investigations were carried out, the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department had been Shani Abeysekara.

The President's Counsel further alleged that former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravi Seneviratne and former CID Director Shani Abeysekara had been aware of extremist activities carried out and planned by the National Thowheeth Jama'ath organisation but had failed to take action to prevent them.

He told court that between January 25 and April 20, 2019, then State Intelligence Service Director Nilantha Jayawardena had forwarded reports to the Inspector General of Police regarding extremist activities carried out and planned by Zahran Hashim and the National Thowheeth Jama'ath organisation. Copies of those reports had also been sent to Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekara, he said.

President's Counsel Jayawardena argued that the authorities responsible for preventing those terrorist activities had failed to take appropriate action.

He also told court that a former Criminal Investigation Department officer, Wasala Thanthrige Dias Padmasiri, had stated in evidence that reports relating to terrorist activities had not been forwarded to officers responsible for investigating extremist activities.

After considering the submissions made, the Court of Appeal fixed July 17 for the further hearing of the petition.