• He is being held for trying to get involved in a court case of which he was not a party to

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to inquire from the Attorney General whether legal action could be taken against former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who is currently held under detention orders for getting involved in a court case of which he was not a party to, and if so, file action against him. 

“Mr. Bathiudeen is being held for trying to get involved in a court case and for providing information to the accused in that case. Therefore, I would like to request the Speaker to write to Attorney General and inquire whether a case could be filed against the former Minister and also to get information from him on how Mr. Bathiudeen has helped the accused of the case he has got involved in. The Speaker should also inform the House on how Mr. Bathiudeen has got involved in this case where he was not a party. Mr. Bathiudeen should be released if there are no charges,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

Also, he said some of the police officers including DIGs against whom indictments have been filed for offences on Easter Sunday attacks have carried out their duties. “I was in charge of the security on April 21, 2019 and these officers did not do any wrong on that day,” he added.

Mr. Wickremesinghe also requested the Speaker to get all volumes of the Presidential Commission report on Easter Sunday attacks and submit it to Parliament.

• The Speaker should also inform the House on how Mr. Bathiudeen has got involved in this case where he was not a party