Underworld figure Nadun Chinthaka has been prevented from revealing bribe seeking cops - his father says

Colombo, Sept. 29 (Daily Mirror) - Nelson Mervin Wickramaratne, the father of Nadun Chinthaka, commonly known as Harak Kata claims that his son suspects that he is being unjustly held in detention under PTA to prevent him from revealing details of senior police officers and politicians who had sought bribes.

In a letter to the UNHRC he also says that his son had stated that he is unable to reveal such details to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) as he is being detained by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) of the police who are also connected to requests for such bribes, and he fears the withdrawal of even the minimum facilities afforded to him while in detention.

Nelson Wickramaratne says his son was arrested under the PTA in March 2023 and has been subjected to administrative detention under the same law till now, despite the Inspector General of Police having issued instructions to use the PTA only in instances of extreme necessity.

He had further informed the UNHRC as follows:

The report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council indicates PTA has been used regularly to arrest persons in 2024 and 2025.

The government has stated that detainees have right to speak to their relatives, but Nadun Chinthaka has not been allowed to speak to his young child or wife during the more than 30 months of detention.

The government also states that Attorneys-at-Law have the right of access to remanded/detained persons. However, access to a lawyer for my son Nadun Chinthaka has been drastically restricted. The legal consultation with his Attorney has been restricted to half an hour, when there is no legal basis to impose such restrictions. He was also handcuffed when he had the consultation, which is usually not done, as observed by his Attorney who had made multiple visits to clients in detention. These matters have been brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka through a letter by the Attorney on 22nd May 2025.

The government report also states that the Court of Appeal may grant bail if a trial had not commenced within one year of the arrest under the PTA and that a High Court may grant bail to persons detained under the PTA if the trial has not commenced after the expiration of twelve months from issuance of a Detention Order (DO). In practice, the government is deliberately using Detention Orders (DOs) under different case numbers, to circumvent restrictions on duration of administrative detention and indefinitely

He also fears food poisoning or serious sicknesses, due to sub standard food served to him. He has been prohibited to receive food from home, though suspects in remand prison are allowed to receive food from home. He is being detained in a cell that is 12 feet by 12 feet alone, and taken out for only 3 hours. Those who serve food for him also don’t talk to him. Despite medical advice for him to write his thoughts to ease depression, a pen has not been provided despite requests.

He sites an example where the time he was taken out of the cell was cut from 6 hours to 3 hours after he made a controversial statement about a refusal to give a bribe of Rs 30 million to former Minister Tiran Alles and former Inspector General of Police (subsequently removed). I kindly request to raise these concerns with the Sri Lankan government in your dialogue today. And also to ensure that these concerns are reflected in concluding observations and recommendations you will be issuing after the dialogue.