222nd Day of the Main Easter Attack Trial – HC (TAB) 2972/21
Date: 07th July 2026|
Venue: Special Permanent Three-Judge High Court (Trial-at-Bar), 2nd Floor, MCC Building, Adhikarana Mawatha, Colombo 12.
At the commencement of proceedings, PW-1922 – SI Madushan was not called by the defence on behalf of the 12th Accused and was accordingly released. Counsel for the 12th Accused thereafter tendered an amended list of defence witnesses
DW-5 – Ms. Thilini Madushanka D. Alwis, Registrar of Colombo Magistrate’s Court No. 8, testified regarding Case No. B/15764/08/19. She produced the journal entry dated 3rd December 2019, which was marked as 12VD5. The portion stating that the “පසුව සැකකරුගේ ප්රකාශය කියවා නොදුන් බවත්, නමුත් තමා එයට අත්සන් යෙදු බවත් දන්වා සිටි”,, was marked as 12VD-5(A). During cross-examination, the prosecution drew attention to the latter part of the same entry, which recorded that “සැකකරුට තුවාල කිසිවක් නොමැති බව දන්වයි.”. Upon completion of her evidence, the witness was released.
Thereafter, counsel informed court that the wife of the 12th Accused would not be called as a witness, and she was released.
DW-8 – Mrs. Mohamed Abdul Jaleel Fathima, the mother of the 12th Accused, testified that her son could not read or write Sinhala, although he could speak and understand it to a limited extent. She stated that he had been arrested by persons dressed in black with covered faces, later detained by the TID and subsequently transferred to the Welisara Camp. She further testified that on 9th November 2019, the 12th Accused informed the family that TID officers had asked him to sign a statement written in Sinhala. On that day, she, together with the wife, son and father-in-law of the 12th Accused, visited the TID Headquarters after being requested by the Maligawatte Police to go to TID headquarters . According to the witness, the father-in-law advised the 12th Accused to sign only if the statement had been recorded in a language he understood, and SI Madushan provided his contact number to the father-in-law.
The witness further stated that the 12th Accused later handed her a notebook in 2020 containing a handwritten request asking that a complaint be lodged before the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. The certified copy of that application given to the HRC was marked as 12VD6, while her subsequent request seeking information regarding the complaint was marked as 12VD7.
During cross-examination, she denied suggestions that her evidence was fabricated and explained that the delay in lodging the Human Rights Commission complaint (in 2021) was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear experienced by the family as TID officers frequently visited their residence. She also explained that she remembered the date of 9th November 2019 because it was five days before her grandson’s first birthday, a fact they had mentioned to SI Madushan during their visit. It was further revealed that the application marked as 12VD6 had been written by her elder daughter. Following re-examination, the witness was released.
DW-14 – Mr. Dammika, a Coordinator in Mobitel Company testified regarding mobile number 070-4259724. He stated that the connection had been gained through a MIM Telecom Services sub agent and that the relevant identification number was 746250460V. He explained that subscriber identity numbers are relied upon when issuing such connections. During cross-examination, he confirmed that the 070 prefix belongs to Mobitel.
DW-6 – Mr. Gihan Suren Samaranayake, Additional Registrar of the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court, testified regarding Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court Case No. B/917/2/19 before Magistrate’s Court No. 2. The Further Report dated 7th August 2019 was marked as 12VD9, while the Further Report dated 6th April 2021, filed by the Officer-in-Charge of the TID, was marked as 12VD10. It was revealed that the 12th Accused in the present Trial-at-Bar proceedings is the 15th Accused in the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court case. During cross-examination, the witness confirmed that the court record contained no journal entry indicating that the 15th Accused had been released.
At the conclusion of the day’s proceedings, the court ordered DW-1, DW-4, DW-9, DW-11, DW-14, DW-15, DW-18, and DW-19 to be summoned to appear on the next hearing date.
Next Date: 8th July 2026 at 10. a.m.
