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MR, Deshabandu yet to surrender passports 

26 May 2022

  •  Court previously imposed overseas travel bans on duo and others  
  • Johnston claims passport destroyed
BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Attorney General’s Department informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (25) that several persons including former Prime Minister and incumbent Government MP Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon, who were barred from travelling abroad in connection with the incident of peaceful protestors being attacked by a group of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporters in Colombo on 9 May, have not yet submitted their passports to the Court. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ayesha Jinasena PC informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate that out of those against whom a foreign travel ban was imposed, Rajapaksa, SDIG Tennakoon, Colombo Municipal Councilor Mahinda Kahandagama, Amitha Abeywickrama, Pushpalal Kumarasiri, Nishantha Jayasinghe, Dilip Fernando, and Amal Salinda have not yet handed over their passports to the court. She further informed the Magistrate that former Minister and current Government MP Johnston Fernando, as well as Renuka Perera, had informed that their passports had been destroyed and that therefore could not be handed over. ASG Jinasena PC added that out of the said persons, Jayasinghe, Dilip Fernando, and Kahandagama have left their residential addresses. When contacted by The Morning yesterday (26), Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police and Attorney-at-Law Nihal Thalduwa said that the relevant persons or the Criminal Investigation Department would inform the Court in this regard at the next date of the Court proceedings. The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court had imposed a travel ban on several politicians including Rajapaksa, former Ministers and incumbent Government MPs Namal Rajapaksa, Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi and C.B. Rathnayake, Government MPs Sanath Nishantha Perera and Sanjeeva Edirimanna, and SDIG Tennakoon, and several others, as they have been named as suspects in the case of the attack on and assault of peaceful protestors at the MynaGoGama protest site in Kollupitiya and the GotaGoGama protest site at the Galle Face Green on 9 May.  


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