The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has issued several recommendations and conclusions regarding an attack on a group of journalists on July 9th.
A complete report in this regard was published on ‘The Leader’ website as follows.
A group of journalists from the “Sirasa” news channel was shot on July 9, 2022 near Ranil Rajapaksa’s house at 5th Lane, Colombo 03.
According to its investigation, the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has concluded that Senior Superintendent of Police Romesh Liyanage is definitely responsible for the attack.
The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has today issued a statement containing its conclusions and recommendations in English.
The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has asked Special Task Force (STF) Commander DIG Varuna Jayasundara, Special Task Force Director, Senior Superintendent of Police Romesh Liyanage and Special Investigation Unit Senior Superintendent of Police D.S. Wickramasinghe has been summoned.
The assault was unjustified and intentional….
It has been revealed in the investigation that Senior Superintendent of Police Romesh Liyanage is the commander of the unit deployed to protect the current President’s private residence at 5th Lane and nearby.
140 officers of the Police Special Task Force were there under the command of Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Liyanage.
“There is no doubt that the journalists did not threaten the police that day,” the announcement states.
The statement also stated that the attack on the journalists by the STF and the police after identifying them as journalists was unjustified and deliberate.
These officers of the Police Special Task Force who attacked the journalists were under the direct command of Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Liyanage. Liyanage denied being there at the time of the attack. He also denied that he knew about the attack on journalists.
But the Human Rights Commission has shown him the video footage of the relevant incident. It is said that he is present in those scenes.
“Senior Superintendent of Police Liyanage is responsible; His testimony is questionable.”
The Human Rights Commission has also concluded that serious doubts have been raised about the credibility of the testimony given by Senior Superintendent of Police Liyanage to the Human Rights Commission.
It is a punishable offense for such a high-ranking officer to testify falsely on oath.
The Human Rights Commission also claims that he is definitely responsible for the attack on journalists today.
The statement also states that this attack is a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the people and, importantly, the rights of a free press which is an essential part of every democracy.
It further states that this irresponsible behavior of top law enforcement officials is gross, harmful and dangerous to the security of a just society.
The officer conducting the police disciplinary inquiry has informed that the criminals involved in this attack have not yet been identified and it is not an easy task to identify them from the existing uniforms.
“One major weakness is that the attackers cannot be identified for police investigation. Therefore, the Human Rights Commission has recommended to the Inspector General that the current camouflage uniform is not the appropriate uniform for civil operations.
The Human Rights Commission has emphasized that the Inspector General of Police should pay attention to the uniform currently worn by the Police Special Task Force for civil operations and take appropriate measures to have a proper uniform especially for civil duties.
The police have informed the commission that the police special investigation unit is currently conducting an investigation in this regard.
That “investigation must be independent and impartial. It is recommended to the IGF that SSP Liyanage be transferred to another branch of the Special Task Force outside Colombo pending the completion of police investigations to facilitate such an investigation.” The statement also states that
These recommendations have already been sent to the IGP for immediate implementation of the above instructions.
Below is a song sung for journalists and media persons who were attacked.