Senior attorneys concerned over PCoI on political victimisation; seek report copy

Saturday, 6 March 2021 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Write to BASL Secretary seeking report from President’s Secy.
Warn report may undermine rule of law, impair judicial independence and impact AG dept.

A group of senior lawyers have written to Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Secretary Rajeev Amarasuriya, requesting him to obtain from the President’s Secretary a copy of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report that probed alleged incidents of political victimisation during the previous administration and make it available to them.

The letter to the BASL Secretary has been signed by eight President’s Counsel including K. Kanag-Isvaran, Ikram Mohamed, W. Dayaratne, Faisz Musthapha, Upali A. Goonneratne, Geoffrey Alagaratnam, Romesh De Silva, Wijedasa Rajapakshe, U.R. De Silva, Nihal Jayamanne, Upul Jayasuriya and Saliya Peiris.

The attorneys said in the letter that recent media reports based on the report of the COI which was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has led to serious concerns among them.

“Upon the perusal of these news reports we have serious concerns that the contents of the report may undermine the rule of law in the country, impair the independence of the Judiciary, and erode the impartial and efficient functioning of the Attorney General’s Department,” the letter said.

Under the circumstances, the PCs requested the BASL Secretary to apply and obtain a certified copy of the entirety of the proceedings led before the commission along with the report submitted to the President from the President’s Secretary, and make it available to them and to other members of the Association who have similar such concerns.