Pastor Jerome instructed to appear at CID again

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has informed Pastor Jerome Fernando to appear at the CID once again at 9.00 a.m. tomorrow (Dec. 01) to obtain a further statement, Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said.

The self-styled ‘prophet’, who was under fire for his much-disputed comments on several religions during sermon, made an appearance at the CID this morning (30) and provided a statement for around 08 hours.

This was as per a court directive, to record a statement with the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division within 48 hours of his arrival in Sri Lanka.

Pastor Fernando returned to the island on Wednesday morning (Nov.29) after months of controversy over his remarks. He had arrived from Singapore on board a Qatar Airlines flight and left the airport through the Gold Route at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

On November 17, the Court of Appeal ordered the CID not to arrest Pastor Fernando upon his arrival in the country. The ruling also mentioned Pastor Jerome should record a statement with the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division within 48 hours of his arrival. As such, he arrived at the CID premises this morning to provide a statement.

This interim order was issued in respect of the petition filed by Pastor Fernando, seeking to prevent the CID from arresting him.