Colombo Fort Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage released 19 medical student activists on sureties of Rs. 25,000 each when they appeared at court regarding a case of unlawful assembly.
They were issued notice on August 11 for violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
They were issued notice after the Colombo Fort Police filed a B-report at the Magistrate’s Court regarding a protest march on August 5. The medical students marched from Maradana towards the Presidential Secretariat.
The police said it was an unlawful assembly during an election period and therefore it violated the Parliamentary Election Act. The protest march also caused obstruction to the public, the police added.
However, the lawyers representing the students said that they had only intended to hand over a petition to the Presidential Secretariat.
