Magistrate Court of Colombo issues interim order under Section 24(2) of the Online Safety Act against Rizly Illiyas, who launched a targeted online attack labelled “MAFIA GANGSTER ROBBERS” just days before the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee presidential election scheduled for April 25, 2026
By Legal Correspondent | Colombo | April 2026
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — In a striking legal intervention that underscores the growing reach of Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act, the Magistrate Court of Colombo has issued an interim court order restraining Mr. Rizly Illiyas from making further defamatory and slanderous statements online against Mr. Asanga Chandra Senevirathne — a prominent businessman, Chairman of Sri Lanka Rugby Federation, and declared candidate for the presidency of the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee.
The order, granted under Section 24(2) of the Online Safety Act of Sri Lanka, No. 9 of 2024, in proceedings before the Magistrate Court of Colombo (Case No. MC 76451), came in response to an urgent petition filed by Mr. Senevirathne after the 1st Respondent, Mr. Rizly Illiyas, allegedly launched a calculated and malicious social media campaign designed to destroy his reputation and derail his candidacy just days before the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee elections scheduled for April 25, 2026.
“The order sends an unambiguous signal: the courts will not permit the online space to be weaponised for targeted character assassination.”
The Man Behind the Petition: Who is Asanga Senevirathne?
Mr. Asanga Chandra Senevirathne, is one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent figures in the business and sporting world. A seasoned entrepreneur, he serves as Chairman of several companies and has led the Sri Lanka Rugby Federation as its President — a position that has placed him at the forefront of national sporting governance.
His public profile reached a new milestone when he announced his candidacy for the position of Chairman of the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee, with the election scheduled for April 25, 2026. It is this candidacy that became the direct catalyst for the alleged online smear campaign against him.
The Attacker’s Own Troubled Record
The irony of the campaign against Mr. Senevirathne is not lost in the legal record. The affidavit reveals that the 1st Respondent, Mr. Rizly Illiyas, was himself found guilty of violating sports conduct codes during his time with Sri Lanka Rugby. In 2023, following proceedings before an Asian Rugby Appeals Tribunal, Mr. Illiyas was found guilty and dismissed from service. Documentary evidence of his dismissal has been placed before the court as an exhibit by the Petitioner.
The “MAFIA GANGSTER ROBBERS” Post: A Targeted Attack
According to the sworn affidavit, around April 22, 2026, Mr. Senevirathne learned through a personal contact that Mr. Illiyas had published a damaging social media post from an Instagram account operating under the name “srilankatuskers.” The post, shared on or around April 19, 2026, was provocatively titled “MAFIA GANGSTER ROBBERS” and contained a series of allegations against Mr. Senevirathne.
Mr. Senevirathne’s has categorically rerejed these allegations as false and defamatory, and states that the ordinary and natural meaning of the statements was plainly intended to destroy his reputation and mislead potential voters ahead of the Olympic Committee election.
WhatsApp Campaign: Another Dimension of the Attack
The defamatory campaign was not confined to Instagram. The Petition has further disclosed that Mr. Illiyas also circulated false and unacceptable statements against Mr. Senevirathne within several WhatsApp groups.
In a further act of targeted harassment, the 1st Respondent is alleged to have shared a news article from the website kandyprimenews.lk, using Mr. Senevirathne’s photograph as the thumbnail image, and circulated this article widely through WhatsApp groups in a manner described as deeply offensive and malicious. Screenshots of these communications have been produced before the court as evidence.
Sabotage of the Olympic Committee Election
Mr. Senevirathne states states that the 1st Respondent’s actions were deliberately and maliciously carried out with the intention of preventing him from contesting, and/or disrupting his candidacy for the position of Chairman of the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee at the election scheduled for April 25, 2026, and/or misleading the electorate.
The timing of the campaign — with the post appearing just days before the election — is cited as a clear indicator of its targeted and pre-meditated nature. Mr. Senevirathne characterises the conduct as “harassment” within the meaning of the Online Safety Act.
The Legal Framework: Online Safety Act No. 9 of 2024
The petition was filed invoking Section 24(1) of the Online Safety Act, No. 9 of 2024, which entitles a person affected by a “prohibited statement” to seek relief from a Magistrate. Section 20(1) of the same Act makes it an offence, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding Rs. 500,000, for any person to intentionally publish or communicate personal information of a targeted person with the intention of harassing them.
Section 24(2) empowers the Magistrate to issue a conditional order at the outset, before the full hearing, where the circumstances so warrant. This was precisely invoked by the Petitioner, and the Magistrate having found sufficient grounds, granted the interim order against the 1st Respondent, Mr. Rizly Illiyas.
Notably, not only was Mr. Illiyas named as the 1st Respondent, but WhatsApp LLC, Instagram LLC, and Meta Platforms, Inc. — the parent platforms through which the offending content was distributed — were also named as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Respondents respectively, as “internet intermediaries” under the Act.
The Interim Order
Upon supporting the application by the counsel, an interim order was issued by the Magistrate Court of Colombo in Case No. MC 76451 legally restraining Mr. Rizly Illiyas from communicating, transmitting, distributing, sharing, generating, publishing, promoting, or soliciting any personal information or prohibited statement pertaining to Mr. Asanga Senevirathne through any online platform or medium.
The petitioner has also sought that the court direct the Online Safety Commission to disable access to the offending online content and order the relevant internet intermediaries to take all necessary steps to remove the prohibited statements. The matter is to be called before court within two weeks for further proceedings.
The public and all social media users are hereby put on notice of this court order. Anyone who aids, abets, shares, or further disseminates the defamatory content subject to this order may expose themselves to strict legal consequences.
The Legal Team
Mr. Senevirathne was represented in court by Mr. Shivan Coorey, Senior Attorney-at-Law, and Mr. Rukshan Mendis, Attorney-at-Law. Both counsel appeared with the instructions of Neethika Partners, a team of Attorneys-at-Law — Mr. Chameera Haputhanthri, Mr. Thanuj Sandaruwan, and Ms. Nikini Mapitigama — who provided guidance and coordination throughout these proceedings.
The case is expected to be closely followed by Sri Lanka’s legal, sporting, and civil society communities as one of the early judicial tests of the Online Safety Act’s powers to restrain the misuse of social media platforms for targeted personal attacks.