Sri Lankan Opposition Protests In Support Of Detained Ex-Intelligence Chief Suresh Sallay

Colombo: Sri Lankan opposition leaders on Monday launched a protest in support of detained former state intelligence chief Suresh Sallay after he was admitted to hospital following a fast unto death, escalating concerns over his treatment in custody.

According to PTI, the protest centres on allegations that Sallay has been subjected to torture and degrading treatment since his arrest in February, as authorities question him in an effort to identify the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The case has drawn renewed attention after the National People’s Power (NPP) government reopened the Easter Sunday investigations in late 2024, arguing that political interference had contributed to a cover-up of the investigation.

Sallay was transferred to the National Hospital on Sunday night after resorting to a hunger strike over what he alleged was degrading treatment under detention.

His hospitalisation came after his wife, Manori Sallay, wrote to the Inspector General of Police alleging that her husband had been subjected to “torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” while in custody.

Opposition leaders began their protest opposite Colombo’s main railway station.

“We want to send a message to the government that the well-being of Sallay is a priority as a former war hero. His torturing must stop,” Wimal Weerawansa, a former minister and the leader of the National Freedom Front, told reporters as the protest got underway.

“We won’t stop until he receives better treatment under detention,” Weerawansa said.

Sallay was arrested on February 25 for questioning as investigators sought to track down the mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which killed 270 people, including 11 Indians, at churches and five-star hotels in Colombo, PTI reported.

A retired Major General, Sallay was serving in a diplomatic position overseas when the attacks took place. Before 2015, he was a key state intelligence official under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.

He has been accused of maintaining links with the Islamic extremist activists who carried out the attacks.

In a separate letter to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday, Manori Sallay said she and her son were allowed to see her husband only from a distance in the hospital. She urged that his lawyers be allowed to visit him at his bedside.

PTI reported that the government of Maithripala Sirisena was accused of inaction despite intelligence being shared by India on the impending attack.

The current NPP government reopened the Easter Sunday investigations in late 2024, claiming that political influence had led to a cover-up of the investigation.

(With inputs from PTI)