Is the court aware of the process followed regarding Suresh Sale?

Special attention was drawn to the ongoing legal process concerning Mr. Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, during the Sirasa TV "Dawasa" program. It was revealed that the court is well aware of this entire process, and that Mr. Suresh Sallay was arrested not merely based on a sole decision by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), but based on confessions made before a judicial magistrate and statements presented to the court.

Although the current government had the ability to arrest him immediately upon coming to power, following the revelations by Channel 4, the government did not do so. Instead, it conducted a lengthy investigation and recorded statements from over a hundred individuals. Additionally, during these discussions, a recommendation was made to visit 'Fit Gosa' located on Galle Road in Bambalapitiya.

Among those who gave statements are two directors who served in the Criminal Investigation Department during Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa's administration when Mr. Suresh Sallay was serving in the State Intelligence Service, two Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs), the then Inspector General of Police, and the Government Analyst. Although a suspect held under a Detention Order (DO) signed by the President or the Minister of Defence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act is usually supposed to be detained in a specified location, for the first time in the history of the Sri Lanka Police, the court has ordered that a suspect held under such a detention order be produced before the court. Accordingly, the Magistrate visits the location where Mr. Suresh Sallay is detained every month to inspect him.

This entire investigation is being conducted based on court orders, and it was the court that ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to record statements from witnesses. Investigating officers have recorded these statements in accordance with those orders, and this arrest has been made based on the testimonies of witnesses and army officers. Following Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa's assumption of power, several individuals, including Hijaz Hizbullah, were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act on the orders of Mr. Suresh Sallay, who was appointed as the Director of the State Intelligence Service. However, in the current investigations, Mr. Suresh Sallay has been arrested after extensively recording evidence and statements from more than ten individuals.

To date, politics has not interfered with police investigations in any way, and even the opposition has not yet made such an accusation. The opposition's statement that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe or anyone else did not know in advance that Mr. Suresh Sallay would be arrested is true. This clearly indicates that the investigating officers and the judiciary are currently operating completely independently and autonomously, without any political assistance or protection from any party. If any error occurs in this process, it is those officers who will have to face the difficulties.

Allowing state institutions to remain independent without political interference is the main demand that the public has fought for, and these institutions continue to uphold that independence to this moment. However, some groups are indirectly requesting political interference in the old manner, asking Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake to save Mr. Suresh Sallay. But in the face of such independent investigations and legal processes, he has no power to intervene.