Ruwan Ferdinandez not wanted by CID

By T. Farook Thajudeen

Sri Lanka X-news Website Editor Ruwan Ferdinandez who surrendered before the Colombo Chief Magistrate court yesterday was not wanted by the CID, CID IP Anura Silva told the Colombo Additional Magistrate.

Ferdinandez was produced before the Magistrate by his Counsel Saliya Pieris and said that the CID had already arrested eight workers of the website and are looking forward to arrest Ferdinendez allegedly for programming an anti-Government news website.  Answering the counsel, Silva said that the investigations had not revealed his involvement into any offense and therefore he is not necessary for the case. However he said the CID would need to record his statement and ordered him to call over to the CID office.

Counsel Pieris submitted that according to the first A Report filed by the CID in court and the subsequent B Report, Ferdinandez had controlled the websites therefore even though the CID now asserts that Ferdinandez is not wanted for the case, once he visits the CID, he will be arrested arbitrarily. Therefore the Counsel moved to release Ferdinandez on bail.

Magistrate Prasanna De Alwis observed that even though the CID had alleged that Ferdinandez was wanted for the case their subsequent investigations had revealed that he was not wanted. Therefore the question of his arrest would not arise.

However since everyone is bound to assist the investigations ordered Ferdinandez to appear in person with his counsel before the CID on 16 June to make the statement.

Pieris further submitted on behalf of the other eight suspects of Sri Lanka Mirror website said that the suspects were arrested under an obsolete Section 118 of the Penal Code which was repealed by Section 12 of the  code in 2002. He also contended that the arrest was made arbitrarily and was illegal. He drew attention to the judgment of the Helping Hambantotoa case of the Supreme Court and said in that case the court had ruled that since no complaint was received by the Police against then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the police could not maintain the case and dismissed it. In the present case the CID had acted on their own accord without any complaint made against the suspects.

The Magistrate ordered the Counsel to make written submissions on 20 July.

The CID on 29 June raided the offices of the Lanka Mirror Website and the Sri Lanka X-news Website at   Pitta Kotte and the residence of Lanka Mirror Editor Ruwan Ferdinandez alleging that there was anti-Government material in the premises. Later, the eight suspects arrested at Lanka Mirror were released on Police bail on the direction of the Magistrate.