• Takes offence with State Minister ‘claiming’ that he had obtained a Court document in advance by making a payment 

Activist Oshala Herath is preparing to file contempt of court charges against State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage over a statement she had allegedly made in relation to a case filed against her under charges of purportedly violating the Immigrants and Emigrants Act.

Gamage, during a television (TV) programme, had made remarks regarding an incident involving Herath posting matters pertaining to the relevant case on social media platforms.

While speaking to The Daily Morning, Herath said: “There is a case that I have filed against Gamage before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. When the case was taken up recently, the Magistrate made some observations in an 18-page-long document. I, as the complainant, received that document. I had also posted certain sections of that document on Facebook. Gamage had claimed during a TV programme that I may have got that document in advance by paying money to someone.”

He further said that he is preparing to file a case against Gamage under charges of contempt of court as she has claimed that he (Herath) had paid money to someone to obtain a document relating to a pending case. “The person who filed a case can get the documents related to it. She has undermined the judiciary by claiming that it has been obtained by paying money.”

Speaking further, Herath said that it was learned that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has already commenced an investigation against Gamage over the statement in question based on a complaint made by some other party. He said that the teams involved in the investigations related to the complaint have even obtained the audio and video recordings of the relevant TV programme related to her statement from the relevant electronic media institution.

There are two cases before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and the Court of Appeal, through which Herath has sought action against Gamage for her alleged violation of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act by obtaining Sri Lankan passports while holding British citizenship. Allegations of producing forged documents including a fake birth certificate have also been levelled against her.