No indictments under emergency laws

26 August 2011 06:35 pm Views - 3563

Following the lifting of Emergency Regulations, the Attorney General would not be able to issue fresh indictments under the Emergency Act, a senior official of the Attorney General’s Department said yesterday.

According to the law while the existing cases would be continued, there was no possibility to indict suspects after August 25, on which date President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced the lifting of Emergency Law.

The official said according to the Interpretation Ordinance, the existing prosecution against the accused indicted under Emergency Law could be continued.

However the AG would be able to charge the accused who were initially arrested under Emergency Law and later were detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. 

On Thursday President Rajapaksa who was in the parliament proposed the lifting of the emergency regulations that were in force since 2005. The Emergency Laws were re-imposed after the assassination of the then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in August 2005 by the LTTE. (Susitha R. Fernando)