22 April 2022 08:44 am Views - 204
By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera
Public Security Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday, investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks had confirmed that no one had seen Sarah Jasmine and that the witness who claimed to have seen her was missing.
He told Parliament that the witnesses were suspected to have fled the country.
The Minister said 735 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident so far and that 196 of them were in prison.
“There are nineteen suspects under detention order. Investigations against 81 suspects have been completed and filed charges against them. A total of 453 suspects have been released on bail. Twenty-seven cases connected to 25,753 charges have been filed against them,” he said.
He said assistance of the Federal B
ureau of Investigation, Australian Federal Police and Intelligence agency in the Maldives have been obtained.
He said SIS Director Nilantha Jayawardane was made a state witness by the then Attorney General Dappula De Livera.
He said PCoI report on Easter attacks was tabled in Parliament and said he instructed to prepare a letter to be sent to the Attorney General to expedite the implementation of recommendations of the PCOI report.
“We cannot influence courts. We won’t do so, either. This process should take place through the Attorney General’s Department,” he said.
He said the government would take action to mete out justice to families of the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.