CID allows family visits but rejects daily legal access to Suresh Sallay

Colombo, June 15 (Daily Mirror) - The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has denied a request to grant daily legal access to the former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Major General (Rtd.) Suresh Sallay. Sallay is currently being detained under a detention order and is receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital after launching a hunger strike while in CID custody.

The decision was communicated in writing to the suspect’s wife, Manori Sallay, by CID Director Shani Abeysekera. The response came after Mrs. Sallay formally requested the department to permit her husband's legal counsel, Asith Siriwardena, to visit him five days a week during his hospitalization.

In the official letter, the CID Director explained that because Major General Sallay is currently hospitalized and temporarily removed from active investigative proceedings, there is no immediate necessity for daily legal consultations at this stage.

Furthermore, the CID Director cited health and well-being concerns, stating that frequent visits from legal counsel could affect the suspect’s recovery and overall condition.

The letter also pointed out that, pursuant to existing judicial directives, the attorney has already been granted permission to visit the suspect once a week, specifically on Wednesdays.

Concluding the response, the CID Director affirmed that while the daily visitation request for the lawyer cannot be accommodated, Sallay’s immediate family—including his wife, daughter, and son—have already been granted permission to visit him on a daily basis at the hospital.