Attorney-at-Law Achala Senevirathne has called on the government to take responsibility for any threats to her life or the safety of her clients, particularly victims she represents in legal proceedings.
Addressing the media Senevirathne said she was deeply disappointed with the government’s performance over the past two years and accused the administration, including President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, of appearing to have forgotten the role of public support in bringing it to power.
Senevirathne’s remarks come after she was recently arrested in Trincomalee following a dispute with police. Legal advocates and her supporters have characterized the arrest as retaliation for her high-profile litigation involving state officials.
Senevirathne and one of her clients were taken into custody at the Trincomalee Police Station after submitting detailed statements concerning an ongoing legal dispute for several years. Both were later produced before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court and released on bail.
The case stems from a Jan. 27 court proceeding in which Senevirathne’s client questioned the testimony of a police officer before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court. Senevirathne has described the testimony as false.
The following day, police filed reports naming Senevirathne and her client as suspects in connection with alleged interference with official duties. Within 48 hours, closed-circuit television footage from inside the courtroom showing the exchange appeared on social media, prompting allegations of institutional collusion. Senevirathne said,
Senevirathne stressed that government officials, including the president, the justice minister, the public security minister and ministry secretary Ravi Senevirathne, as well as other relevant authorities, had been informed about the underlying case before the incident.
She said the case had been filed under the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act and had been heard in the Trincomalee courts for several years. She said issues concerning the role of the Attorney General, including alleged conflicts of interest, had also been raised in connection with her representation of the victim, which she said was also reported to authorities.
Senevirathne said the authorities were subsequently informed about the incident involving Trincomalee police, as well.
She expressed disappointment over the sequence of events and the response from the relevant authorities, saying any threat to her safety or that of her clients, particularly victims she represents, should be addressed by the government. (Newswire)