By Newswire Editorial
Sri Lanka Police have requested media institutions to stop publishing an earlier notice seeking public assistance to arrest a 47-year-old suspect in connection with alleged sexual harassment complaints involving Facebook and WhatsApp.
The Police Media Division issued the clarification after being informed that the suspect had filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal seeking an order preventing his arrest.
According to Police, the Court of Appeal has issued an order directing that the suspect should not be arrested until instructions are received from the Attorney General.
The clarification follows an earlier Police notice requesting public assistance to locate the suspect, who was being investigated by the Sammanthurai Police.
The Police Media Division said the Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the Ampara Division had informed it of the court proceedings.
In light of the court order, Police have requested all media institutions to refrain from further publishing or broadcasting the earlier notice seeking assistance to apprehend the suspect.
Police have also requested media organisations to give the clarification the same prominence as the original announcement.
The latest communication supersedes the earlier public appeal for information regarding the suspect’s whereabouts. (Newswire)