AG orders the release of Katunayake attack suspects

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 February 2002, 17:36 GMT]
The Attorney General has directed the Negombo Magistrate to release all the thirty-two Tamils arrested and remanded in connection with the attack on Sri Lanka Air Force head quarters at Katunayake on July 24 last year. All the suspects have been detained at Kalutara prisons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

When a fundamental rights (FR) application filed by one of the thirty-two suspects came up for inquiry before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court Thursday, the State Counsel who appeared for the prosecution submitted that the AG's direction to release all the suspects has already been dispatched to the Negombo Magistrate.

The three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprised Justices P.Edussuriya, C.V.Vigneswaran and Asoka de Silva.

The petitioner V.R.Inbanithi of Vavuniya has filed this FR application stating that his arrest and detention was illegal as there was no evidence to implicate him with the attack.

The SC put off the hearing in the FR application for March 15 when the State Counsel informed court about the AG's direction.

Meanwhile the Jaffna High Court Judge Mr.K.P.S.Varatharaja Thursday discharged an accused indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act due to insufficient evidence against him. In this case, S.Manivannan, a student of Kokuvil Technical College, Jaffna was arrested by Sri Lanka Army soldiers. Later he was indicted under the PTA for the possession of articles belonging to the LTTE.