Dehiwala Police OIC Anuradha Herath admitted in the Supreme Court to violating the fundamental rights of a young Muslim man arrested over a social media post about burning the Israeli flag, personally apologizing and paying Rs. 2 million in compensation before the bench.
Dehiwala Police OIC Anuradha Herath, who admitted before the Supreme Court to violating the fundamental rights of a young Muslim man arrested over a social media post, personally apologized to the individual in open court. Additionally, the OIC paid Rs 2 million in compensation to the aggrieved youth for the injustice caused to him.
This agreement was reached when the fundamental rights petition filed by the affected youth, Mohammed Rizaan Mohammed, a hotel worker from the Galkissa area, was taken up for consideration before the Supreme Court. The petitioner had named Dehiwala Police OIC Anuradha Herath, Police Constable Jayathunga, and Galkissa Senior Superintendent of Police Prasanna Brahmanage as respondents in the petition.
According to the petition, the respondent police officers had arrested the youth on October 24 last year in the Mawanella area. He was subsequently detained and questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Following his production before the Galkissa court, he was remanded in custody. However, later, upon the intervention of the Attorney General, steps were taken to release the youth, clearing him of all charges.
In his petition, the youth had sought a declaration that his fundamental rights had been violated through this arrest and requested compensation. During the proceedings, the petitioner was represented by Senior Counsel Hisham Hizbullah on the instructions of Attorney Ilfan Hassan Ali, while the respondents were represented by President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma.
