Wimal files case against two immigration officers seeking Rs. 1 billion in damages

MP Wimal Weerawansa has filed a case against two officers of the Immigration and Emigration Department before the Colombo District Court seeking Rs. 1,000 million as compensation for alleged defamation.

The former minister says he was arrested under the Immigration and Emigration Act for no reason during the previous ‘Yahapalana’ (good governance) government and a case was filed before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court, and that this had harmed his reputation.

In this case which was filed today (12), the authorized officer of the Immigration and Emigration Department Eranga Rambukwella, senior authorized officer Sujeewa Rathnayake and the Attorney General have been named as respondents.

In 2015, Weerawansa was accused of using an expired passport to fly abroad while the MP was preparing to travel to Europe for a series of lectures, following an invitation from Sri Lankan expatriates in Dubai and Italy.

However, the MP had claimed that upon arriving at the airport he realized that the passport in his possession was one that he had lost and later found after obtaining a new passport.

Weerawansa claims he was arrested by the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department without any reasonable cause and was released on bail after being produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court. 

In relation to that, the MP pointed out that the court acquitted him of all charges after nearly 09 years of hearing the case filed against him under the Immigration and Emigration Act.

Accordingly, he has filed this case demanding a compensation of Rs. 1, 000 million from the respondents for the defamation caused by maliciously arresting him and prosecuting him without conducting a fair investigation.