Court orders Suresh Sallay to hand over phone, computer passwords to CID

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, July 1 (Daily Mirror) - Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena today ordered former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Suresh Sallay, who is being detained and questioned under a detention order over the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, to provide the Criminal Investigation Department with the passwords to his mobile phone and computer for the purposes of the investigation.

The Magistrate also delivered orders on the applications made by the defence at the previous court date.

On the first application made by the defence, the Magistrate rejected the request to remove the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department from the investigation.

On the second application, the Magistrate rejected the request seeking permission to provide newspapers, written materials and legal statutes required for the legal proceedings to suspect Suresh Sallay while in custody.

The Magistrate also rejected the request made under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow the suspect to make a statement before the Magistrate which would not amount to a confession, observing that such a statement could interfere with the ongoing investigations.

The Magistrate further rejected the application seeking the release of the first and second suspects on the basis that there was no further evidence against them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

With regard to the third suspect, Suresh Sallay, the Magistrate allowed the request that he not be physically produced before court for the proceedings and ordered that he be produced before court through video technology on future court dates.

The Magistrate also rejected the request seeking judicial supervision over legal access to the third suspect.

The case was fixed for September 2. The Magistrate stated that orders on the application made by Counsel appearing for the original complainant would also be delivered on that date.

The Magistrate further stated that the order on the application made by Ajith Shantha Kumara Jayathilaka, the military officer appearing on behalf of the aggrieved party seeking permission to make submissions before court without the assistance of an Attorney-at-Law, would also be delivered on September 2.