• Protestors who were released on bail by the Magistrate were taken to a quarantine centre in Mullaitivu by force

The Inter University Students Federation and Ceylon Teacher’s Union (CTU) yesterday filed 15 Habeas Corpus petitions in the Court of Appeal seeking an interim order directing authorities to produce 15 protestors before Court. 

 The petitioners, the members of IUSF and CTU have filed these petitions naming IGP Chandana Wickremaratne, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon, Officer-In-Charge of Slave Island Police Station, OIC of Thalangama Police Station, Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena and several others as respondents.   

The petitioners said the protestors gathered at Battaramulla junction on the 8th of July, against the proposed Kotelawala Defence Academy Bill. They stated that around 11.00am, a group of police used excessive force to disperse the protestors and arrested the corpus together with around 30 persons.   

The petitioners stated that protestors who were released on bail by Colombo Magistrate were taken to a quarantine centre in Mullaitivu by force sans the  presence of health authorities or antigen or PCR tests. The petitioner stated that the police requested an order from the magistrate to send them to a quarantine centre but the request had been rejected by the magistrate.