The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has raised concerns over a possible review by the Cabinet of Ministers over the Attorney General’s decision to release three suspects related to a high-profile killing of an editor in 2008.
Sri Lanka’s Attorney-General has released three key suspects in the long-running assassination case of high-profile editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, documents showed this week. The move has stunned people who have been seeking justice for a long time.
Attorney-General Parinda Ranasinghe (Jnr) has ordered the discharge of Premanand Udalagama, a former military intelligence officer, and Prasanna Nanayakkara, the then-DIG, who was remanded and bailed after evidence linking them to the murder and sabotaging the investigation.
“The BASL is firmly of the view that decisions of the Attorney General in criminal matters should not be reviewed by the political authorities including the Cabinet of Ministers as that would undermine the independence of the office of the Attorney General, which is crucial to uphold the rule of law,” the BASL said in a letter to President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
The BASL said whilst the AG is a public functionary and as such is accountable to the public for his decisions, the AG performs a quasi role in respect of criminal matters.
“As such, the Attorney General has to decide whether or not to charge a suspect based on the material available and submitted to him by the investigating authority,” the BASL said.
“In doing so, he will be required to consider whether such material is admissible in law and whether based on such material, there exists a reasonable prospect of a conviction.”
The sudden decision to discharge three suspects in one of Sri Lanka’s most emblematic cases comes despite President Disanayake having urged the Attorney General’s Department last month to restore public confidence in the judicial system.
“..we urge Your Excellency to ensure that there is no unwarranted interference with the exercise of the powers of the Attorney General and we trust Your Excellency will continue to protect the independence of key institutions including that the office of the Attorney General which is essential to protect the rule of law in our country,” the BASL wrote.
PRIME MINISTER RESPONDS
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuria in the parliament on Friday responding to a letter written to her by slain Wickrematunga’s daughter said the new government intends to seek justice for the murder of Wickrematunga.
She also assured that the government will do everything to ensure justice is delivered and follow the due process while ensuring the independence of the AG Department.
“But justice should be delivered. If necessary, we will refile the case. There are enough evidence,” the Prime Minister told the parliament.
In a letter to the CID, AG Ranasinghe in January ordered investigators to inform the Mount Lavinia Magistrate of his decision not to proceed against the three key suspects in the relevant case and to report back within two weeks.
A copy of the letter, which was also sent directly to the magistrate and two other recipients, was dated 27 January 2025 but has been widely shared on the social media platform X this week.
Udalagama, a former military intelligence officer, had been in remand custody over allegations of abducting Wickrematunge’s driver and threatening him with death unless he stopped implicating the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in the killing.
Wickrematunge’s driver had alleged that his employer was killed by a DMI unit, as previously reported to the courts by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police.
Nanayakkara, then-DIG in charge of the area where Wickrematunga was murdered, was arrested in 2018 and remanded in custody for suppressing vital evidence in the murder case before being released on bail.
Shortly before he was killed, Wickrematunge, had noted down the registration numbers of motorcycles that were following him on the morning of 8 January 2009. The assassins arrived on motorcycles.
Police scene-of-crime officers recorded their observations, but had been ordered the removal of their notes from the official police records.
Wickrematunge’s notebook was handed over to DIG Nanayakkara, who then passed it on to the then-Inspector General of Police, Jayantha Wickramarathne, also a suspect in the cover-up.
Eventually, the notebook disappeared after the case was transferred to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID).
Despite the police top brass making concerted efforts to conceal evidence, junior police officers had secretly made photocopies of Wickrematunge’s notebook, as well as their own observations recorded in the Grave Crime Information Book (GCIB).
These photocopies of the original police entries in the GCIB, along with a copy of Wickrematunge’s notebook, resurfaced at the CID almost nine years after the crime.
