Nalaka Godahewa is a political prisoner – Mahinda
Dec 23, 2015
The former president gave a statement when he participated for a special discussion held with BBC.
The media reported that the former president visited the welikada prison hospitals to see the army soldiers who were alleged for the murder of the journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.
However the former president said that he visited the prison hospitals to see Nalaka Godahewa and three other professionals who were currently in custody.
He said when he visited he was able to meet few army intelligence officers who were taken into custody for the abduction of Prageeth Ekneligoda.
Prevention of Terrorism Act
“Now these people are arrested under the prevention of terrorism act. I don’t think it is fair to arrest the army intelligence under the PTA”
When BBC contacted the police spokesperson Assistant Superintendent of Police Ruwan Wanigasekara, the latter said that he wish to abstain giving a statement regarding a case which is currently under litigation.
The Kurunegala district parliament MP briefs that Nalaka Godahewa and few others were inside custody due to their involvement in politics behalf of me and described them as political prisoners.
“Due to their involvement in politics they are being arrested, because of giving a small letter which has a technical error. If not these are civil cases”
BBC is biased
However the police spokesperson denied the allegation that the police are not giving bail out for the accused for supposedly transforming a civil allegation to a criminal case.
The police spokesperson said that these officers are taken into custody for violating the public property act which is non-bailable allegation and if there are any objections the accused can file a fundamental rights petition in the courts.
MP Rajapaksa criticized the presidential commission which is investigating the advertising campaigns of the state owned ITN channel during the last presidential election for reimbursing the money, that the complaint is investigated due to a political influence.
Meantime the Kurunegala MP castigated the BBC for reporting the current situation of the country in a biased way.
“When reporting information to the public don’t be biased. There is a serious allegation against the BBC that you all are involved in a biased reporting” he said.
“The people are not expecting this from you, you all have to think intelligently and broad”
Meantime when BBC inquired the missing journalists wife Sandya Ekneligoda to get her opinion about the allegations leveled by the former president she said that the Rajapaksa administration is trying to save the members of the army who has been alleged for abducting her husband.
The attempt to get a statement from the cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senarathna to get his opinion about the allegation leveled by the former president failed.
