Several parties seek to intervene in Suresh Sallay’s writ petition

Colombo, July 8 (Daily Mirror) - Several individuals and organisations, including prominent Buddhist monks, have sought the permission of the Court of Appeal to intervene in the writ application filed by Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, former Director of the State Intelligence Service, challenging the legality of his arrest and detention.

The intervention petitions were filed by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera, Ven. Dapane Sumanawansha Thera, Dimbulagala Rahulalankara Thera, President of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Chandra Nimal Wakishta, and the Global Sri Lankan Forum. They are seeking an order from the Court of Appeal permitting them to be added as Party Respondents to the pending writ application.

In their petitions, the proposed intervenient-petitioners contend that Major General Salley’s arrest and detention are founded on allegations that have already been the subject of official inquiries which, they claim, reached adverse findings regarding the credibility of those allegations.

They submitted that the narrative based on the Channel 4 News documentary had been found to lack credibility in official investigations, while also maintaining that such inquiries confirmed that Sallay was not in Sri Lanka during the relevant period.

The petitioners further asserted that multiple official investigations into the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings consistently attributed responsibility to Zahran Hashim and his National Thowheeth Jama’ath/Islamic State-linked network, without implicating Sallay in any capacity.

They also pointed out that the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, sitting as a seven-judge bench in Fundamental Rights Application No. SC FR 163/2019 and connected cases, made no adverse findings against Sallay, despite him being a party to those proceedings.