Sallay’s treatment could be meted out to others in the Opposition: UNP

Colombo, June 10 (Daily Mirror) - The United National Party (UNP) while highlighting that the treatment meted out to former State Intelligence Services (SIS) Chief Major General Suresh Sallay in violation of the Constitution and international conventions, said the treatment meted out to Sallay may be applied on other opposition groups.

Following is the full statement.

Former Chief of State Intelligence Major General Suresh Sallay has been arrested and is currently admitted to the Colombo National Hospital due to his health condition.

The wife and son of Major General Suresh Sallay have now publicly disclosed the facts regarding his medical condition. Based on the details they have revealed, it can be concluded that the health condition of the former Chief of State Intelligence is not good.

After working in Malaysia, Major General Suresh Sallay served the country as the Chief of State Intelligence during the administrations of former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe. During that period, at no time were allegations leveled against Mr. Sallay like the ones being leveled today.

The issue today is not whether he is involved in or responsible for the allegations being charged against him. The issue today is how an arrested person is being treated.

According to the information received since the hospitalization of Major General Suresh Sallay, it indicates that he has been treated in the most inhumane manner. The torture and inhuman treatment of an arrested person is completely contrary to Article 11 of the Constitution. It is also a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966.

An arrested person should be treated in a manner that is consistent with Article 11 of the Constitution and the above international covenant. Otherwise, the problem will not end here. This incident has already reached the attention of the international community.

Section 9(b)(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) states that it is the responsibility of the Magistrate “to ensure that the suspect is entitled to the protection provided by the Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, No. 22 of 1994.”

Accordingly, any interrogation conducted in violation of the Act and the Constitution can be considered as Contempt of Court and legal liability will be incurred in this regard

The United National Party strongly condemns the treatment of Major General Suresh Sallay in violation of the Constitution and international conventions.

We also see the dangerous situation here. If the treatment of Mr. Suresh Sallay is normalized, the same situation will be applicable to opposition groups as well. It is a very dangerous trend.

At a time when the NPP government is making a huge effort to control the Buddhist religion, this trend may also be implemented against Buddhist monks. All these situations have received the close attention of the United National Party.

The United National Party states that any action taken against Major General Suresh Sallay must be in accordance with the Constitution and international conventions. The United National Party is very vigilant about the way the government is acting in this regard