’#GoHomeGota2022’ FB admin seeks Rs.100 mn compensation from police

Social media activist and the admin of '#GoHomeGota2022' Facebook page Thisara Anurudhdha Bandara today filed a Fundamental Rights petition in Supreme Court seeking a sum of Rs.100 million as compensation from police and state.

The petitioner was arrested by the Modara Police on April 2 for allegedly attempting to excite feelings of disaffection toward the President and the Government of the Republic through a facebook page named '#GoHomeGota2022'.

Inspector General of Police Chandana Wickremaratne, Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, DIG Chandra Kumara, Modara Police OIC Nalin Sriyantha and several others were named as the respondents in the petition.

The petitioner states that after completing his degree from the University of Colombo, he taught mathematics to students in Great Britain online as a job.

He said he was able to earn foreign currency which is beneficial not only to the Petitioner but also to the country as a whole. The petitioner further states that as a youth he is deeply dissatisfied with the prevailing political system in Sri Lanka and believes that Sri Lanka had suffered a major setback in world due to the same. He states that he had invited the people through his Facebook page with more than 55,000 followers to join the protest against the reckless decisions taken by the present government and the current political system and informed through his Facebook page that such protest should be conducted peacefully.

The Petitioner states that the Modara Police OIC questioned him alleging that he had no right to protest against the President as the President had been elected for a term of five years and therefore, the petitioner would be taken to the police.

He further states that in the B report it was stated that petitioner has connections with Dr. Pathum Kerner and that the Petitioner supports him to cause an uprising in Sri Lanka.

"However even now Dr. Pathum Kerner has come to Sri Lanka and he is appearing in public and on social media. However, the Police have not yet taken any action against him, the petitioner said. He states that the allegation that he was arrested for having a connection with Dr. Pathum Kerner is a false allegation fabricated to arrest the petitioner. The Petitioner states that the police did not have an iota of material to justify him being arrested and produced under Section 120 of the Penal Code. The Petitioner states that his arrest was without any justifiable reason for posting posts on the Facebook that are not against the law and his arrest was without reasonable cause and for holding and expressing an alternative political opinion. This petition was filed through Attorney-at-Law Yohan Anthony Pieris. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)