Action by the Catholic Church against the police

The spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, Reverend Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, stated yesterday (25) that the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is preparing to file a fundamental rights petition against the police officers who assaulted a priest in Negombo over the weekend.

 Commenting, Reverend Father Fernando stated that this fundamental rights petition would be filed on behalf of Reverend Father Milan Priyadarshana, who was assaulted by police officers in Negombo. He added that officers on motorcycles surrounded and assaulted the priest, and although Reverend Father Priyadarshana emphasized that he received no order from the police to stop, the police accused him of disobeying such an order.

Reverend Father Priyadarshana is currently receiving treatment at Negombo Base Hospital.

Reverend Father Fernando questioned how the police could discipline society if they themselves lacked discipline.