A fine of 20 lakhs for the Dehiwala Police OIC who arrested a young man for a social media post.

Dehiwala Police Station OIC Anuradha Herath, who admitted before the Supreme Court that the fundamental rights of a young Muslim man arrested based on a social media post stating that the Israeli national flag would be burned, had been violated, apologized to the young man. In addition, the OIC paid a compensation of twenty lakhs rupees to the young man in open court for the injustice he suffered.

This agreement was reached when the fundamental rights petition filed by Mohamed Rizan Mohamed, a hotel employee residing in Mount Lavinia, who was aggrieved, was considered before the Supreme Court. Dehiwala Police OIC Anuradha Herath, Police Constable Jayatunga, and Mount Lavinia Senior Superintendent of Police Prasanna Brahmanage were named as respondents in this petition.

The young man was arrested by the respondent police officers in Mawanella on October 24 last year and was subsequently detained and questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The petition stated that he was later remanded after being produced before the Mount Lavinia Court. However, subsequently, with the intervention of the Attorney General, steps were taken to acquit and release the young man from all charges.

The petitioner had requested the court in his petition to declare that his fundamental rights had been violated through this arrest made by the police and to grant him compensation for it. During this trial, Senior Counsel Hishap Hisbullah appeared for the petitioner young man on the instructions of Attorney-at-Law Ilfan Hassan Ali, while President's Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma made submissions before the court on behalf of the respondents.