By Roy Denish.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s writ seeking protection from arrest in the renewed Easter Sunday attacks investigation.
COLOMBO – The Sri Lankan Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed a high-profile writ petition filed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which sought to prevent the Criminal Investigation Department from arresting or detaining him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The petition was reviewed by a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Sarath Dissanayake, who declined to grant leave to proceed, delivering a significant legal setback to the former head of state.
The legal scrutiny stems from ongoing renewed investigations into the April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 279 people, including dozens of foreign nationals.
Investigators and parliamentary panels have continually scrutinised how actionable foreign and domestic intelligence warnings regarding impending attacks by the National Thowheed Jamaath were handled prior to the tragedy.
At the time of the 2019 bombings, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not yet president, but he had previously served as the powerful Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 2005 to 2015 and later campaigned heavily on national security during his successful 2019 presidential run.
Investigators are examining accountability, structural lapses, and whether sufficient administrative oversight was exercised during critical security periods.
Fearing potential detention under the broad and stringent provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act as Criminal Investigation Department inquiries intensified, Rajapaksa’s legal team sought pre-emptive protection from the courts to block any move by law enforcement to arrest him.
By dismissing the petition without a full hearing, the Court of Appeal has left law enforcement unhindered by judicial injunctions, allowing investigators to proceed with their legal mandates as the high-stakes inquiry continues.
