National Freedom front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa strongly criticised the arrest of former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, alleging that the move forms part of a broader political effort ultimately aimed at former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Addressing the media, Weerawansa described the arrest as an attempt to weaken the country’s intelligence apparatus to satisfy external interests. He defended Sallay’s professional conduct, stating that intelligence officers are required to maintain contact with extremist elements in the course of gathering information.
“Intelligence is always inside the enemy,” he said, arguing that communication with members of proscribed organisations for intelligence purposes does not equate to supporting terrorism. He further claimed that Sallay played a significant role during the final stages of the war and was instrumental in monitoring the activities of Easter Sunday attack mastermind Zahran Hashim after signs of radicalisation emerged.
Weerawansa alleged that intelligence units under Sallay had warned the National Security Council during the previous ‘Yahapalana’ administration about Zahran’s alleged links to ISIS, but that those warnings were not acted upon. He claimed that had the information been taken seriously at the time, there had been an opportunity to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
The MP further asserted that the arrest forms part of a wider political conspiracy. He claimed that authorities were seeking to implicate Rajapaksa and were attempting to use Sallay in that process.
“The next step is Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” he alleged, adding that the move was intended to appease elements of the Tamil diaspora and sections of local society critical of the military’s role in ending the war.
Weerawansa also raised concerns regarding the handling of evidence in the ongoing investigations. He alleged that fabricated material was being presented to mislead the judiciary. Referring to the release of certain assets belonging to members of the Ibrahim family — whose sons carried out the Easter Sunday bombings — and the reported overseas departure of a domestic worker linked to the household, he suggested there were inconsistencies in the investigative process.
He warned that targeting former military and intelligence officials would have serious consequences, and stated that his political faction would continue to oppose what he described as an unjust campaign against security personnel.
