The story Natasha Edirisooriya told after coming out, following the police's apology in court

The former OIC of the Computer Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department has officially expressed his regret before the Supreme Court regarding the incident of the arrest of comedian Ms. Natasha Edirisooriya. This letter of regret was submitted to the court by the government attorney when a fundamental rights petition filed by her was taken up for hearing.

Accused of making comments insulting Buddhism during a comedy show titled "Modabhimanaya" held in 2023, she was arrested at Katunayake Airport by the Computer Crimes Investigation Division under the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act. Accordingly, the relevant official has expressed deep regret in his letter regarding her arrest on May 27, 2023, and her remand until July 05. Furthermore, the letter also states that he regrets if any harm was caused to her reputation or any mental distress was inflicted through this process.

The petitioner, Natasha Edirisooriya, and the respondent, former OIC S.M.U. Subasinghe, appeared before the court for this hearing. There, the Chief Justice informed the petitioner that he appreciated her agreement to settle the petition, as the respondent had expressed regret in this manner. Accordingly, the Supreme Court decided to completely conclude the hearing of the fundamental rights petition, which she had filed after being released on bail.

Meanwhile, the Senior State Counsel appearing for the respondents informed the court that the Inspector General of Police has decided to issue a special set of guidelines to prevent illegal actions that may occur when arresting individuals under the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act. He further stated that this set of instructions is scheduled to be sent to police stations within the next two days. Natasha, who came out of court, addressed the media and said:

"I was arbitrarily arrested. Today, my old case was taken up for hearing in court. The recommendation from the Human Rights Commission stating that my fundamental rights had been violated was also there. If the Attorney General's Department agrees and is willing to change the current arrest procedure by the police, I agreed to withdraw my petition. A circular regarding this is expected to be issued in two weeks. Apart from that, the officer who arrested me has expressed his regret and given me a written apology."

From my side, what I wanted to do, rather than receiving financial compensation, was to find out what I could do to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else. I believe I did the maximum possible legally for that. So, within the legal system, there's nothing more to do beyond that.

I have to respond next (do a counter-press) regarding how the media publicized this and related matters. I believe that justice should be served to me. At the very least, there should be a discussion about how media organizations should behave in such situations.