The Colombo High Court has issued summons to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for the fifth time, to appear before the court on January 22, to testify in the case against former UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake.
The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Wikum Kaluarachchi today (09).
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who have been named as witnesses in the case, informed the court through their secretaries that they are unable to testify at the hearing today due to their respective foreign visits.
Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, representing the prosecution, informed the court that he is ready to proceed with the hearing using other witnesses in the absentia of the President and the Prime Minister.
However, a junior defense attorney requested the court to postpone the hearing as the President’s Counsel, who is representing the defendant, is unable to attend this hearing due to another case hearing.
DSG Dileepa Peiris has then stated that, although the defense attorneys make requests to postpone the case hearing, the defendant of the case, at a radio programme, had recently alleged that the prosecution is postponing the hearing of the case.
As the postponement of the hearing today is solely based on the request of the defense attorneys, they should refrain from making baseless charges against the prosecution, DSG Dileepa Peiris has further stated.
The DSG also emphasized that the prosecution will not favor any of the witnesses and that the designations of the witnesses are irrelevant before the court.
Accordingly, the Colombo HC Judge Wikum Kaluarachchi ordered to hold the hearing of the case on 22nd and 23rd of January and issued summons to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to appear before the court at the next hearings.
Meanwhile, the defense attorney informed the court that his client is slated to receive an invitation from the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Foundation to travel to Japan from 15th to 25th November, for a religious event.
He further informed the court that, in addition to this, defendant Tissa Attanayake is also slated to travel to Australia on a personal visit from 10th December to 5th January.
Accordingly, the defense attorney sought an order from the court releasing the passport of Tissa Attanayake, which is currently in the custody of the court.
Accepting the request, the Colombo HC Judge Wikum Kaluarachchi ordered to temporarily release the defendant’s passport.
The case had been filed by the Attorney General, under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, against the former General Secretary of UNP Tissa Attanayake for disrupting the amity between nations by allegedly producing a fabricated document which claims that a secret agreement exists between the UNP and the Tamil National Alliance, at a press conference held in Colombo during the previous Presidential Election.
