• Accused and witnesses ordered to appear in court on the next trial date

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda

The trial against National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa, facing charges relating to causing disturbance to the people and the normal traffic movement during a protest held in 2016 was yesterday postponed as he failed to appear in court due to illness. According to his legal team, the former Parliamentarian Weerawansa is suffering from a viral flu, rendering him unable to attend the scheduled hearing. 

Taking the facts into consideration, Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage rescheduled the trial for November 25. The accused and witnesses in the case were ordered to appear in court on the next trial date.

The Cinnamon Garden Police alleged that NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa and five others had provided leadership to a protest which blocked the main roads at Bauddhaloka Mawatha in 2016, causing disturbance to the people and the normal traffic movement. On February 6, 2016, the NFF staged a protest march against the visit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Six suspects including NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa, Jayantha Samaraweera, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Piyasiri Wijenayake, Roger Seneviratne, Mohammed Muzammil and Don Lucian had been named as suspects in this case. The seventh suspect Chaminda Jayalal has been evading courts from the inception