Former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Suresh Sallay, who is currently being detained under a detention order issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), was produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (20).
The case was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara, while Sallay was brought to court by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under tight security.
Presenting the progress of investigations before court, Additional Solicitor General Dilipa Peiris stated that the CID had recorded a statement in France from Asaad Maulana, who had previously made claims to Channel 4 regarding the Easter Sunday attacks.
“Today we are submitting a 14-page report. This report marks a turning point in the investigation. A team of CID officers, including Director Shani Abeysekara, travelled to France and recorded a statement from Asaad Maulana at the official residence of the Sri Lankan Ambassador. In that statement, he has given a detailed account regarding the Easter Sunday attacks. According to his statement, Suresh Sallay acted as the mastermind behind the attacks in order to fulfil a political objective,” Peiris told court.
The Additional Solicitor General further alleged that a member of Zahran Hashim’s group named Seyni Maulavi had been remanded over a clash at Aliyar Junction and had later shared a prison cell with Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as Pillayan.
According to Peiris, Seyni Maulavi had informed Pillayan that there were members within their group willing to die, after which Sallay had allegedly sought to make use of them.
He further claimed that six individuals, including Zahran Hashim and other suicide bombers who later died in the Easter Sunday attacks, had met Sallay in Puttalam for discussions.
Peiris also alleged that Sallay had telephoned Asaad Maulana during the Easter Sunday attacks and instructed him to go near the Taj Samudra Colombo hotel and take charge of an individual there, as well as seize his mobile phone. That individual, he claimed, was Jameel, the bomber who later detonated explosives in Dehiwala.
The Additional Solicitor General further told court that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, and Namal Rajapaksa had allegedly visited Pillayan at the Batticaloa Prison following the attacks and informed him that he would be released within a week after Gotabaya Rajapaksa became President.
Peiris alleged that after Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office, Sallay — who had served as Head of Military Intelligence — was appointed as Director of the State Intelligence Service in order to prevent intelligence information from reaching other institutions.
He further alleged that Rs. 250,000 had been paid by military intelligence officers to secure bail for Seyni Maulavi and claimed that public funds had been used to protect suicide bombers and conceal extremist activities until the election due six months later.
According to Peiris, Asaad Maulana’s statement had also revealed alleged links between Pillayan’s group and military intelligence in connection with crimes including the abduction of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, the assault on Keith Noyahr, the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge, and the attack on Upali Tennakoon.
The Additional Solicitor General further claimed that more than 2,000 members of Pillayan’s group had been paid salaries through military intelligence, alleging that this had been done not for national security purposes but for “political contracts”.
Peiris also objected to producing Sallay physically before court, claiming that there were threats to his life.
“These days people are dying under mysterious circumstances. Therefore, we request that the previous Magistrate’s order directing the suspect to be produced before court be vacated,” he said.
He further objected to Sallay’s request to make a statement before the Magistrate under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, alleging that there was an organised attempt to derail the investigation.
“There is no doubt that Suresh Sallay is the central figure behind the Easter Sunday attacks. The investigation is now focusing on identifying on whose behalf these actions were carried out. We will bring the principal individuals responsible before the law,” Peiris told court.
Appearing for Sallay, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando challenged the credibility of Asaad Maulana’s statement.
He argued that the contents of the statement could not be accepted as evidence unless subjected to cross-examination before court.
Fernando also criticised the prosecution’s remarks regarding legal access to suspects and said the Attorney General’s Department’s position amounted to an infringement of lawyers’ privileges.
“My client is being subjected to a situation akin to being destroyed without being killed,” Fernando told court, adding that Sallay wished to make a statement before the Magistrate under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsekularatne, appearing on behalf of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and victims of the Easter Sunday bombings, also informed court that it was inappropriate to produce the suspect physically before court while he remained under detention orders.
After considering submissions made by all parties, the Magistrate announced that orders regarding the prosecution’s request not to produce Sallay before court, as well as Sallay’s request to make a statement under Section 127, would be delivered on July 1.
Until then, the Magistrate ordered the CID to continue detaining Sallay under the existing detention order and to produce him before court on the next hearing date.
