• Opposition MP and former Justice Minister says EU Parliament had noted Shani Abeysekera’s “politically motivated” detention 
• Warns EU GSP+ concessions in peril because of Govt.’s “thirst for revenge”
• Says independent prosecutors at AG’s Dept. had recommended Shani’s discharge
• AG’s Dept. must “rise above politics”, says former Justice Minister 

Former Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorale has issued a passionate appeal to officials at the Attorney General’s (AG) Department urging them to rise above politics, as she warned the incumbent Government that its thirst for revenge against critics was now threatening the economic security of the country. 

Athukorale, a main Opposition lawmaker, said in a statement yesterday that the EU Parliament had taken note of former CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekera’s “politically motivated” imprisonment. 

The Government’s political vendettas were threatening to derail Sri Lanka’s GSP+ import concessions that gave the country’s exports a competitive edge in the single European market, Athukorale’s statement noted. 

SSP Shani Abeysekera has been in custody since July 2020, when he was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence that led to the conviction of former DIG Vas Gunawardena by a High Court Trial-at-Bar for the contract murder of a businessman in Bambalapitiya. The investigation against Abeysekera is being led by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) which Vas Gunawardena once led. 

“The Government must immediately stop the witch-hunt against Mr. Abeysekara and all other political prisoners. As a former Minister of Justice, I appeal to the law officers of the Attorney General’s Department to rise above politics. Be professionals and do your jobs independently,” Athukorale’s statement urged. 

If the country’s biggest trading partners start seeing Sri Lanka as a lawless and undemocratic country that arbitrarily punishes professional public servants for doing their job, the country would face an economic catastrophe, she warned. 

Athukorale also revealed that senior lawyers at the AG’s Department had independently reviewed the evidence presented by the Police against Shani Abeysekera and his fellow detectives at the CID.

“All these prosecutors found serious contradictions and inconsistencies in the allegations made against the former CID Director by the Colombo Crime Division. They have all issued independent reports to their supervising officers concluding that there is no basis to prosecute Mr. Abeysekara and recommending that he and his colleagues should be discharged,” the former Justice Minister claimed. 

She said that these reports had been “overruled” by a senior official of the Attorney General’s Department, with a vested political interest. “Without examining the underlying evidence, we understand that this officer has ordered that Mr. Abeysekara and his colleagues be held in remand for as long as possible,” Athukorale’s statement revealed. 

The AG’s Department is unlikely to ever bring charges against the former CID Director in a court of law since there is no credible evidence to support a prosecution, the former Justice Minister said. However, the personal ambitions of a few senior AGD officials were driving the need to “please those in power”, resulting in the recommendations by career prosecutors being overruled, Athukorale claimed. 

“Innocent, patriotic and outstanding Police officers are being punished simply for doing their duty,” the statement said. 

Addressing officials at the Attorney General’s Department directly in her statement, MP Athukorale reminded State prosecutors that as officers of the court, their first and foremost duty was to the rule of law and not to “personal career ambitions”.

“This is no longer just about your own reputations or the fundamental rights and liberty of Mr. Abeysekara and his colleagues. The international reputation of our entire system of justice, our country’s export economy and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports now rest squarely in your hands.”

The EU Parliament adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka last week that noted with concern Abeysekera’s detention and urged the Government to immediately give those detained a fair trial on valid charges or release them unconditionally. 

The resolution calls on the European Commission to determine whether the GSP+ concession to Sri Lanka can be temporarily withdrawn, in light of the Government’s human rights record and consistent abuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to persecute and imprison critics and political opponents. 

• Ahimsa says Shani’s arbitrary detention must end if prosecutors have found him innocent

• Sri Lanka regrets adoption of resolution in EU Parliament