Killing of the attorney-at-law sparks fresh worries But claims of a ‘national security threat’ are hyperbole

The local laws that grant bail after three months in remand custody for the repatriated underworld criminals and local foot soldiers, despite obvious flight risk, have not helped the fight against organised crime

Law and order, and judicial fairness in Sri Lanka, were under scrutiny last week over two separate incidents. First, a lawyer and his spouse were gunned down in the car park of a supermarket complex in Akuregoda in a suspected underworld shooting. The assailants, who arrived in a car, fled the scene during rush hour. A charred car believed to have been used by the assailants was later found abandoned in Agaliya, Galle. The deceased, attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawarachchi, had appeared on behalf of exiled underworld kingpins in several ongoing court cases. 

The Police had previously obtained a statement from the deceased over alleged links to an overseas underworld figure. Investigators suspect that the double murder was ordered by an exiled underworld kingpin known as Jayalath Silva, alias ‘Karandeniya Suda’. The slain lawyer had represented Jayalath Silva and later switched to represent a rival gang boss known as ‘Loku Petti’.

Twelve police teams are investigating the killing, and two suspects, two brothers aged 20 and 24 in Nawagamuwa, alleged to have provided logistical support for the assailants, have been arrested. The two suspects have allegedly transported firearms to the attackers and served as lookouts. They had been assigned by another exiled underworld figure to rent a car and transport firearms from Kotikawatta to the location of the crime.

The killing raised concerns over the recurrent of underworld killings, though most such killings are associated with rivalries between organised crime syndicates operated from overseas. Seven people have so far been shot dead this year. The Government had recently repatriated several underworld members with the help of Interpol and law enforcement agencies in Dubai, Nepal, Thailand, and India. While such measures surely have helped to reduce violence back home, the organised criminal networks have rebuilt under new leaders.  The local laws that grant bail after three months in remand custody for the repatriated underworld criminals and local foot soldiers, despite obvious flight risk, have not helped the fight against organised crime. Several underworld kingpins released on bail had fled overseas after being released on bail.

The lawyers held a walkout from court duties in protest of the latest killings, and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), in a special general meeting, expressed grave concerns over what its members called “an existential threat” faced by attorneys-at-Law.

The BASL called on the Government to “take urgent and robust measures” to bring an end to the current culture of brutal killings and ensure public security and expressed “utmost displeasure…” over the public circulation and attempts of narrative creation through the unverified information attributed as having been communicated by the Police. However, it would probably also have helped if the BASL opted for internal discourse over upholding a code of conduct for its members in matters that supersede the attorney-client privilege. 

Whether recent killings represent a ‘brutal culture of killings’ is subject to interpretation. Yet, recurrent underworld-related murders seriously undermine the rule of law. However, fighting crime within the rule of law comes with strings. Obviously, Sri Lanka cannot do an El Salvador episode where President Nayib Bukale had pre-emptively arrested and locked up all underworld criminals and effectively locked up one percent of the population, turning South America’s homicide capital into its most peaceful. However, Sri Lanka should rethink of laws fighting against organised crimes, and bail conditions that facilitate crime, and introduce extended pre-trial detention for those accused of organised crimes and separate maximum-security prisons.

There was also a clamour on grave national security threat, vindicated by the recent killing. Such claims are without merit and often serve partisan political objectives. Such are also dangerous because they aim to invoke fear psychosis in Sri Lankans who have been through three decades of terrorism.

Recent killings are obviously a public security concern (i.e., law and order and public safety), but not a national security threat. National security concerns a higher realm of issues, including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and existential threats to the very survival of the state and its way of life. This differentiation is important because mixing the two would inevitably conflate the measures taken to safeguard both.

It also feeds into racists and bigots who are searching for a lifeline to launch the next campaign.

The second, though unrelated matter was the death sentence handed over to 12 individuals by the Gampaha High Court over the killing of former Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer Jayantha Gunawardene on May 9, 2022. The two killings were associated with wider unrest that flared up after the Pohottuwa supporters attacked the protestors on the Galle Face Green.

The three-judge bench in a split ruling sentenced 12 accused to death. The court also acquitted 23 defendants, and four received suspended sentences.

The ruling raised concerns not just about the rule of law, but also about the effective dispensing of justice. The accused could appeal against the verdict. Failing that, the President can consider a pardon, considering the circumstances leading to violence.

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