Regarding the kidnapping of journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara, the police have been accused of inhumane torture, brutality and illegal activities.
About 15 hours after the abduction of the journalist, he was brought before the forensic doctor as a matter of legal necessity, and after the forensic doctor’s investigations, the police were told not to present the journalist to the court but to hospitalize him immediately. Accordingly, he was taken to the hospital, and then on the 29th, the relevant preliminary investigations were conducted before Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis.
The illegal activity of the police has been confirmed before the magistrate. An injunction had been obtained from the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court regarding a protest, and it had been confirmed that the central incident related to the case had taken place in the jurisdiction of Colombo and that the illegal abduction of Tharindu Uduwaragedara, who had gone as a journalist to report the protest, had also taken place in the jurisdiction of Colombo. The police who appeared before the court had to admit that.
A panel of over 20 lawyers, including President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris, lawyer Sunil Watagala, and lawyer Upul Kumarapperuma, appeared on behalf of journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara. Speaking to the court, the President’s Counsel, Sallya Peiris, stated that the police acted shamelessly and that the police arrested the journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedera in the same manner as arresting a serious criminal and was severely tortured in the jeep and at the police station.
After considering the facts presented, the magistrate released journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara on two personal bails of Rs. 500,000 each and announced that the trial would be reconvened on August 30.<\/p>\n