Former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today while receiving treatment at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital.
The CID was instructed by the Supreme Court yesterday to immediately arrest Duminda Silva after the court had suspended the special presidential pardon granted to him.
The court had also issued a travel ban on Duminda Silva and issued an interim order to impound his passport, instructing authorities to hand it over to the court.
The Supreme Court’s orders come after the court heard two petitions that had been filed by former MP Hirunika Premachandra and her mother Swarna Premachandra challenging the presidential pardon granted to Silva.
The Colombo High Court imprisoned Silva for life in 2016, over the murder of former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, the father of former MP Hirunika Premachandra.
The Presidential Commission appointed to investigate incidents of political victimization had recommended the release of Silva after which President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had granted a special presidential pardon in June 2021.
Despite several reports claiming that Duminda Silva had left the country after he was spotted at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) earlier this month, he was arrested while in hospital in Sri Lanka. (NewsWire)