THE High Court has ruled in favour of a senior Sri Lankan military officer who was found guilty of public order offences for making slit-throat gestures at protesters in London.
Brigadier Priyanka Fernando was convicted in 2019 and ordered to pay more than £4,000 in compensation and costs after he was filmed making threatening gestures towards Tamil protesters outside the Sri Lankan high commission in 2018.
Three of the protesters, who brought the case, said that the actions of the then military attache had caused them alarm, harassment and distress.
The senior district judge at Westminster magistrates’ court also found that Brig Fernando’s actions were not protected by diplomatic immunity because they did not form part of his duties.
But the High Court overturned the decision today following an appeal by the Sri Lankan soldier, ruling that his actions were covered by diplomatic immunity.
Handing down the court’s decision, Sir Julian Flaux and Mrs Justice McGowan ruled: “We consider that the acts in question in the present case were ones which were performed by the appellant in the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission and thus qua diplomat.
“They did not somehow lose that quality and become acts performed in a personal capacity merely because they were criminal.”
Peter Carter QC, acting for Majuran Sathananthan, one of the Tamil protesters who brought the orginal case, had argued that Brig Fernando’s actions were performed in a personal capacity.
“We are extremely disappointed by this decision,” said solicitor Paul Heron, of the Public Interest Law Centre, who represented the three protesters.
“We would not expect a diplomat to be carrying out his official duties by threatening peaceful protesters.
“We will be reviewing the case in detail, consulting with our client and considering appeal options.”
Source:https:morningstaronline.co.uk