Former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara have been acquitted of all charges in connection with the Easter Sunday attack. It was ordered by a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court today (18).
The attorney general had filed the case against the former defense secretary and former IGP on 855 charges, including intentionally aiding and abetting the attack and failure to take action to prevent a suicide attack when sufficient reliable information has been received that that a suicide attack could be carried out in the vicinity of Catholic churches and hotels in the city of Colombo by a group including Saharan Hashim – Leader of the National Tawheed Jamaat, between April 7 and 21, 2019.
However, the three-judge panel ordered the acquittal of the two former top government officials who were charged without summoning the accused.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Namal Balalle, Aditya Patabendige, and Mohamed Irshadeen issued the order today.
Announcing the verdict in the case of the former Defense Secretary, the panel concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations leveled against him.
Accordingly, it was stated that the former Defense Secretary had not committed any illegal default.
Announcing the verdict, Judge Mohamed Irshadeen said the Attorney General should have thought twice before filing the case.
The judge said that such a case could not be filed without clear evidence as the accused had been charged with criminal offenses and the court would not approve it.
Judge Aditya Patabendige stated that the former Defense Secretary did not have the ability to make independent decisions and that there was evidence that he was in a helpless position in terms of decision-making.
Accordingly, the judge said that it was problematic to order his arrest.
The court ruled that the former chief of state’s intelligence had failed to do so and that he had neglected his responsibilities and attempted to place it on the national intelligence chief.
The judges also pointed out that despite reports of such an attack, the Chief of State Intelligence did not discuss the matter with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, as the Executive President was not in the country at the time.
Meanwhile, the High Court judges have stated in their verdict that the testimony of the former Chief of State Intelligence showed that he too did not have a definite understanding that an attack could take place.
It was stated in the verdict that there was no investigation in the country regarding the information received from abroad at the last moment that there was an attack and only that foreign information was available.
It was also stated that according to the testimony of the then Chief of Army Intelligence, the former Chief of State Intelligence had not properly exchanged information with the Army Intelligence.
Announcing the verdict in particular, the bench emphasized that the court does not approve of accusations against officials after an incident without allowing them to make independent decisions.
