Fresh disclosures before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court have raised serious concerns about the integrity of investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. As the country moves closer to the eighth anniversary of the attacks, allegations of witness intimidation now threaten to further complicate an already prolonged search for accountability.
Making submissions in court, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris has stated that investigations were facing significant obstacles due to alleged pressure on witnesses. He has told the court that individuals who had previously given statements were being intimidated and urged to withdraw their evidence. According to him, this included an incident in which individuals believed to be linked to military intelligence had visited a witness’s residence and issued threats following the last hearing.
Peiris also alleged that there had been plans to plant weapons at the witness’s home and arrange an arrest through another law enforcement unit. If proven, such actions would represent a serious breach of the rule of law and a direct attempt to obstruct justice.
The case, which also involves alleged efforts to derail investigations into the 2018 Vavunathivu police killings and the 2019 Sainthamaruthu explosion, was taken up before Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara. Addressing the court, the Magistrate has emphasised the seriousness of the matter and stated that all claims must be supported by evidence that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“This is not a game,” he has remarked, underscoring the need for careful and credible investigation.
Retired Major General Suresh Sallay, the former Director of the State Intelligence Service, was also produced in court by the Criminal Investigation Department Sri Lanka (CID) as the third suspect and remains in remand custody. His legal counsel has rejected the allegations, arguing that several of the incidents cited by the prosecution took place at times when he was neither serving in that position nor present in the country.
During his submissions, Peiris has maintained that the Easter Sunday attacks formed part of a broader organised conspiracy and claimed that earlier opportunities to identify those responsible had been suppressed. He has also assured the court that investigators would take steps to bring all those involved before the courts within a year, ahead of the eighth anniversary in 2027.
The Magistrate has subsequently extended the remand order on Sallay and directed the CID to produce him again at the next hearing.
Beyond the legal arguments, the case raises broader concerns about the ability of institutions to carry out sensitive investigations without interference. Allegations of witness intimidation, if substantiated, could undermine confidence in the judicial process and delay the delivery of justice.
As proceedings continue, the focus will remain on whether investigators can substantiate these claims and ensure that the process is conducted fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law. In a case of such national importance, the credibility of the outcome will depend not only on what is alleged, but on what can ultimately be proven in court.
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