Opposition parties have stated they oppose to release of suspects who have been imprisoned for a long time under anti-terrorism laws without being prosecuted.
The Samagi Jana Balawega led by Sajith Premadasa has told a weekend English newspaper that it condemns the release of a man detained for more than two years on suspicion of the Easter bombing.
Ahmed Alawdeen’s father Alawdeen Ahmed Muath, who is suspected of carrying out a suicide bombing at St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, was released by Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika C. Ragala on the 6th August.
Alawdeen’s release was announced after the attorney general informed him that he would no longer be prosecuted because there was not enough evidence to file charges against him.
Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena, who is the Assistant Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawega, has said that the suspects involved in the Easter bombing are being released by the present government.
“All employees of the Wellampitiya copper factory owned by Mohamed Ibrahim Inshaf Ahmed, who carried out the suicide bombing at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on April 21, 2019, have been released on an earlier occasion,” Sajaba Gampaha District MP stated to the weekend Morning newspaper.
The ten suspects, who had been detained for more than a year and a half, were released by Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya at the request of the Terrorism Investigation Division following instructions from the Attorney General’s Department that no further legal action would be taken against them.
A series of suicide bombings on April 21, 2019, targeting several churches and tourist hotels, killed more than 250 civilians. The United States has indicted three Sri Lankans on suspicion, but none of the hundreds of Sri Lankans detained under terrorism laws have been prosecuted to date.